Khedira: Time for Juventus to step up

Sami Khedira is confident that Juventus’s poor showing at Genoa was a one-off, but says the defeat must act as a warning that the Serie A champions have to step up their game.

Juve were outfought at Stadio Luigi Ferraris and found themselves 3-0 down inside half an hour, with Miralem Pjanic’s late strike proving a mere consolation.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men still hold a four-point lead over Roma and AC Milan at the top of the table, but midfielder Khedira says Juve must start to win with style – starting at home to Atalanta on Saturday.

“Everyone knows that we should have played much better in the first 30 minutes against Genoa. It is normal for games like that to crop up during the season and when they do, they serve as a reminder that we must continue to work even harder to keep improving,” Khedira told Sky Sport Italia.

“Although churning out victories in a functional way is a great quality to have, being able to do so in style is a step we are all very keen to make. Our squad is very strong tactically and we have a coach who knows how to make the most of it.

“Victory is our only consideration on Saturday and to do that, we’ll need to compete from the first whistle to the last. Playing at home is a good advantage for us at the moment but we need to be prepared both mentally and physically for what is likely to be a testing encounter.

“We are an excellent team and we need to show it out on the field every match.”