Tudor rues late lapse in Juventus' draw with top-four rivals Lazio
Juventus could drop out of the Serie A top four after their draw with Lazio, though head coach Igor Tudor remained confident in his team.
Igor Tudor was left frustrated by Juventus' 1-1 draw with Lazio on Saturday, citing another costly lapse in concentration as key to the spoils being shared.
Tudor watched on as Randal Kolo Muani opened the scoring in the 51st minute, before Pierre Kalulu was sent off for Juventus nine minutes later.
Juventus battled with a man less for over 30 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico but were undone in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time by Matias Vecino's header.
Indeed, Vecino's goal, timed at 95:42, is the second-latest goal Juventus have conceded in the last 20 Serie A seasons, bringing up their 16th draw of the campaign.
Juventus are, however, unbeaten in each of their last six league games in which they have received a red card (W2 D4), and Tudor lauded his team for their efforts.
"We have to congratulate the lads, there is regret because we were one minute away from taking home the three points," Tudor told reporters.
"It was a solid performance, we'll take this point and focus on everyone we'll face this week after the difficulties we've had."
The result leaves Juventus in the final top four place, level on points with Lazio, and one further ahead of Roma, who take on third-placed Atalanta on Monday.
Juventus are the favourites to finish inside the Champions League spots, and are handed a 53.5% probability by the Opta supercomputer.
Asked about the dismissal of Kalulu, his first red card on his 113th Serie A appearance, Tudor pointed to the inexperience of a young squad still learning under pressure.
"Definitely, age and pressure go hand in hand and without experience it can happen," he said. "We paid for these mistakes, but you learn quickly and look ahead."
Tudor also addressed his decision to take off substitutes Vasilije Adzic and Francisco Conceicao for Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Gatti, a move that raised eyebrows.
"I have to explain (the substitutions) because they’re always made for the good of the team," he said.
"I apologised to the two players – I don't usually do that – but it was the right change.
"Gatti, in particular, deserves praise. He came off the bench without a single training session and showed his leadership."
With injuries mounting in defence ahead of Juventus' game at home to Udinese next week, Tudor remained calm and focused on the task.
"We'll prepare as best we can with what we have, but we're ready," he said. "Let's see who recovers - we are missing three defenders.
"We'll get Yildiz back and assess the others. Today we showed the mentality of a big team - and we'll need that again in the next two weeks."