Massimiliano Allegri has urged Juventus to find "mental continuity" as he labelled all of the Bianconeri's upcoming Serie A matches as "must-win".
Juventus are languishing in ninth place, with just four wins from 11 games, and were beaten 2-1 by Sassuolo and then Hellas Verona in their previous two Serie A outings.
Allegri's men face seventh-placed Fiorentina next as they seek to chip away at the 16-point gap between themselves and unbeaten leaders Napoli and the Juventus head coach says his side must get into the habit of picking up three points.
"The league matches for us now are all must-win, until we find the mental continuity," Allegri said. "We have to be realistic and practical. Our matches in the league have always been open, and this is not good."
The 54-year-old hailed the quality of Saturday's opponents, picking out free-scoring striker Dusan Vlahovic, who has eight league goals so far this term.
However, Allegri backed his defenders to keep the Serbia international quiet.
"Fiorentina have three points more than us," Allegri continued. "They have technical players, they make the most of the whole pitch and have a very good coach.
"Vlahovic is a good player and the numbers show it, but we have excellent defenders. We need to play the right game, both technically and defensively."
Juventus ended their three-game winless streak with a 4-2 victory over Zenit in the Champions League on Tuesday, but Allegri refused to get carried away.
"We have to keep our feet on the ground," he added. "After the win against Zenit, we have to concede fewer goals and we need to put the last two defeats in Serie A behind us. Let's keep quiet, keep pushing and keep working.
"The match against Zenit is not a turning point, it must be normality, which fortunately we have had in the Champions League but not in the league. It is a mental growth that we have to do. You win a game, you put it aside and think of another."
The Bianconeri boss wants his side to be more ruthless in closing out games as they strive to climb the table.
"The only game in which we took the wrong approach was Verona," he said. "Our real problem is [that we] pull back when we take the lead, because that's where we become vulnerable.
"I like these challenges that we are facing now, there are many things to improve upon. Each defeat has its own story and it must be analysed well. The performances haven't been bad, but if you concede a lot of goals, something is missing."
Moca FC's Baez, Correa sanctioned by Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Carib Cup semis clash against Cavalier
The Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned players Miguel Baez and Jesus Correa of Dominican Republic club Moca FC for incidents that occurred during their Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final match against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on Thursday, October 30.
After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during its investigation and based on the competition regulations and the applicable disciplinary code, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed Miguel Baez a six-match suspension and Jesus Correa a three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The sanctions include the automatic one-match suspension for the on-field direct red cards given to each player during that 7-0 beating in Kingston.
Both Baez and Correa must serve their suspensions during the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place matches and future editions of the competition.
Moca FC is scheduled to meet Haiti's Real Hope FC in that home-and-away tie on November 26 and December 3 to determine the next Caribbean representative that will contest next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Finalists Cavalier and Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic, have secured automatic berths.
Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee has also warned the players and the club that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with AC Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to AC Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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