Max Allegri Admits Inter Clash Next Weekend Could Decide Serie A After 'Ugly' Loss to Napoli

Max Allegri has admitted that next weekend's clash between his Juventus side and Inter at San Siro will be critical for the Serie A title race, after his side lost 1-0 to Napoli on Sunday. 

Juventus are now just a single point ahead of Napoli after a stoppage time header from Kalidou Koulibaly condemned the defending champions to defeat at the Allianz Stadium, with trips to San Siro and the Stadio Olimpico to face Roma still to come. 

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The Juventus boss praised his opponents after the game, admitting they dominated the ball, despite his team losing from a corner kick. 

Speaking to Premium Sport, Allegri said: "It was an ugly game by both teams, with virtually zero shots on goal. Unfortunately, on the corner, we did not mark and we conceded a goal. Napoli did what they had to do, dominating possession because they have a good side."

Allegri took the time out to look ahead to Juventus' next game against Inter, which has taken on added significance after Sunday's late show from Napoli. 

The Juve boss said: "Now for us, Saturday's match against Inter is really the decisive one. We are still in the lead of Serie A, we have two games at home and two away, but the decisive one will be in Milan. Now we must quickly clear ourselves of this defeat and get back to work immediately. We have to focus on what is next.

"I do not know if this was the worst Juventus performance this season, considering that we had an opponent as strong as Napoli, even if we could have done some things better."

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Allegri also addressed the substitution of Juventus' leading scorer Paulo Dybala at half-time, insisting that the change was not a reaction to the Argentine's performance. "Disappointed with Dybala?" he said. "I replaced him only because I needed a little more coverage on the wings."