Massimiliano Allegri warned Juventus can kiss its Serie A dominance goodbye if it regularly turns in the kind of performance that saw the side enjoy a long unbeaten run at home ended by a 2-1 defeat to Lazio.
Ciro Immobile struck twice for the Rome club on Saturday, condemning the champions to its first defeat at the Allianz Stadium in 42 league games, a run extended to 57 fixtures in all competitions. The streak ought to have been preserved, but Paulo Dybala saw a 97th-minute penalty saved by Thomas Strakosha, the Argentinian's second failure from 12 yards in as many games for Juve after his miss against Atalanta left them with a 2-2 draw.
Amid Napoli's stunning start to the campaign, Inter's resurgence under Luciano Spalletti and the Bianconeri's woes, with Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini struggling badly against Immobile, Juve's long rule over Serie A is under serious threat, a fact Allegri is all too aware of.
"We had the warning signs against Torino, Sassuolo and Atalanta. We have these drops in concentration and pay a heavy price for them," Allegri told Mediaset Premium. "Between Bergamo and today we have dropped five points and haven't realised yet that to win the Scudetto you must fight every single day. It's a hard slog. Some were a little tired, others carrying knocks, but these are not excuses, as we dropped five points.
"Now we've got an important game on Wednesday against Sporting in the Champions League and we have to win.
"We ran into a very well-organised Lazio side that is dangerous on the counter. I was just disappointed we lost the ball too easily. We were too soft in the tackle, otherwise Lazio never really got into our half in the first period.
"Those are the moments that decide a match. If you drop a point here and a point there, in the end you're not going to win the Scudetto."
Former Juventus youngster Immobile revelled in his role in his old side's downfall, having sealed Lazio's first win over the Bianconeri in 14 years.
"I want to enjoy it with my team-mates, as we put in an exceptional performance. I am a striker, it's my job to put it in the net and a pleasure to play with them," Immobile told Sky Sport Italia .
"It was a huge achievement, Juve had been unbeaten here in 57 competitive games, I think, so that was amazing to end that run.
"This gives us a real push in terms of morale and confidence. We knew that we had the quality, we just needed to raise the game in terms of mentality."
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