Inter lacks balls, says club director

The club's sporting director was despondent when facing questions after the game, struggling to fathom how his side have gone from topping the table as late as January 6 to fifth and trailing leaders and victors Juventus by 13 points.

Inter defender Juan Jesus after the loss to Juventus

Piero Ausilio has slammed Inter after its 2-0 defeat to Juventus on Sunday.

The club's sporting director was despondent when facing questions after the game, struggling to fathom how his side have gone from topping the table as late as January 6 to fifth and trailing leaders and victors Juventus by 13 points.

"I don’t know how many other teams have managed to lose this many places in such a short space of time," Ausilio told Sky Sport Italia .

"Losing at the Juventus Stadium is no shame, where we really suffered was dropping points against Carpi, Sassuolo and Verona.

"[Inter coach] Roberto Mancini already had flu and a temperature before the game. It was raining heavily and cold here, so he lost his voice too. That is why I am here talking to you."

Ausilio dismissed questions about Mancini's tactics, saying the players were more at fault than the coach.

"In all honesty, we damaged ourselves. We had defenders slipping and sliding, creating chances for Juventus," he said.

"What I found inadmissible was the second-half performance, allowing a goal with a simple cross and doing very little. I really did not like the attitude coming out after the break, as within a couple of minutes we gifted Juventus the goal.

"There was a lack of concentration. I remain convinced Inter had a good first half, apart from the opening 20 minutes, and Mauro Icardi had a great chance."

More than just disappointed, Ausilio said he was left angered by what he saw in the second half.

"I was let down by the second-half performance. Actually, I was absolutely furious," he said.

"I will admit I expected more of the players to step up and be worthy of Inter. You can play football in many different ways, but what you cannot lack is technique, determination, character and balls.

"Juventus deserved the win, don’t get me wrong, but if we look at the incidents then their goals were created by slips, misplaced passes and silly tackles.

"None of us believed we would stay top at Christmas, considering the project that was in an early stage and so many new players.

"At the same time, we cannot think that where Inter belong is in fifth place. We now have to roll our sleeves up, try to play good football and climb back up."