© EuroFootball.com
Antonio Conte's "Juventus" team surrendered with a score of 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup against the "Roma" team led by Gervinho.
After the match, A. Conte, interviewed by "Rai Sport" journalists, praised the team's performance, which was made up of substitute players in these matches, but remained critical of the work of the refereeing brigade led by Paolo Tagliavento.
"The match did not lack balance. I think 'Roma' scored a goal just when we were ready to take control of the match," the strategist shared his comments. "We studied each other's tactical nuances very well. I was satisfied with the performance of the less frequent players on the field."
"It's a shame we conceded when we were playing our best moments. To play solidly and try to score against 'Roma' – that was our plan. In the first half, we lacked a bit of courage, but at the same time successfully thwarted the opponents' attacks," he added.
Continuing the conversation with journalists, A. Conte pointed out two mistakes made by the referees in his opinion - initially, 'Roma' defender Mehdi Benatia only received a yellow card for the last ditch tackle on Sebastian Giovinco, and later the linesman disallowed Federico Peluso's goal.
"I thought that was a last ditch tackle. I asked the fourth match referee about it. In any case, I don't want to comment on the referee's work, he made a decision and that's it. After watching the replay of the episode with Peluso's goal, it is clear that the ball did not cross the goal line. I repeat, referees make mistakes, but the ball clearly did not leave the field," A. Conte expressed his frustration.
"Look at the 'Roma' players, who did not protest. They even breathed a sigh of relief when the linesman raised the flag. Maybe it's even good that the opponents received this little gift. Imagine if it had happened to us. The whole press would write about 'help'," he added.
When asked if giving away ball control to the hosts was part of the tactical plan, A. Conte categorically replied: "We do not have players suitable for counterattacking football. We always try to have control of the game in our hands and punish the opponents at the first opportunity, but we rarely go on counterattacks."
