Torino lost the derby, but can take away some positives from the match. Mihajlovic was not highly critical of his team despite the result. In a game where neither team was entirely outclassed, Torino leaves defeated; however, their coach was still satisfied with the performance when he spoke to Sky.
In analyzing the game, Mihajlovic expressed some regret: “Until the 83rd minute, it was an even game. Perhaps we deserved more from the two chances that Llajic and Benassi had, but Juventus is a team built to win the Champions League and Serie A while we are fighting for qualification to the Europa League. But this difference was not seen. We did not capitalize on our chances, but we did have them. If you do not score, Juventus is a team which knows how to punish you.”
After Torino’s performance, however, the Serbian did have some compliments for his team: “I am proud of my players; they played a match worthy of Torino. We are gaining the awareness that if we play like today, we can confront any team on an equal footing. We must change how we approach certain games, like the one against Genoa, which we should not have lost. With Juve it is okay to not win while playing well.”
The second goal from Higuain arrived immediately after the three changes Torino made. However, Mihaljovic did not see any correlation between the two events: “I wanted to win with the three changes I made, but the second goal rattled us. I am not sorry for the decisions I made. My selections must always be made as an attempt to win even if they sometimes come with risk. Furthermore, the goal itself did not seem to be in any way related to the substitutions. Barreca could have done better. But he is still young, and Higuain is a champion. Juventus is a stronger side. They are not invincible in every single game, and we tried to obtain victory. We could have perhaps done better by playing more vertical passes. In the second half we began to do this, and I was convinced we would not lose and that we could even win.”
With 11 goals, Belotti is having a fantastic season and is representing Torino well. “He is an extraordinary player who can still improve. He must remain humble and continue to work in the manner which he currently does. He is the ideal player for Torino and could be for any other team.”
