Juventus manager Antonio Conte has defended his side after they saw their Serie A lead cut to five points after a 2-1 home loss to Sampdoria on Sunday.
The Old Lady had taken a first-half lead through Sebastian Giovinco only for Sampdoria to fight back to claim a famous win in Turin.
Argentine Emanuel Icardi hit a second-half double, both strikes coming on the angle, to leave Juve shocked and looking over their shoulder, with second-placed Lazio closing to within five points after their victory over Cagliari.
“It wasn’t a performance we will look back on fondly,” Conte told reporters after the defeat.
“But we’re human, not Martians and we’ve had problems with injuries and some players not being in top condition.”
Meanwhile, Napoli recorded an impressive 4-1 triumph over fellow Champions League hopefuls AS Roma. The result has Napoli in third, two points behind Lazio, while Internazionale drop to fifth after their 3-0 loss to Udinese.