Parma dents Juventus's top-four hopes
Juventus suffered its first defeat under Igor Tudor after a toothless display against relegation-threatened Parma ended in a 1-0 defeat in Serie A.
Mateo Pellegrino scored the only goal at Stadio Ennio Tardini, where the hosts eased their relegation fears by moving six points clear of the bottom three.
A dull first half burst into life in stoppage-time, when Pellegrino met Emanuele Valeri's looping cross to bury a header beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Chances were also limited after the break, with both struggling to create many genuine opportunities in attack.
Juve pushed for an equaliser towards the end and Francisco Conceicao drilled narrowly wide in stoppage-time, as the Bianconeri suffered a damaging defeat, its first against Parma in the league in 10 years.
The result leaves Juve in fifth spot on 59 points, a point behind Bologna in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification and level with sixth-placed Lazio, which beat Genoa 2-0 in its match to move above Roma in seventh.
Tudor knew his players fell short of expectations against their 16th-place opponents.
"We lacked a bit of everything," he said. "We pushed a lot in the second half, but we were not dangerous enough.
"We lacked determination and desire. Too many times, we were just happy to participate. We must grow, be wicked and have the desire to win and fight.
"Parma are doing well now. They play simple football, but they have a competitive spirit. We deserved to score a goal, but unfortunately, we were not determined enough up front.
"We could have done more. When you reach the last 20 or 25 metres, you need to score. If you don’t do it, the risk is losing the game."
The Bianconeri must quickly dust themselves down before resuming the battle for a top-five place against Monza this weekend.
"We are disappointed, but we look ahead," Tudor added. "There are still five games remaining and a lot of points at stake. We play again already in four days' time."
