Marotta rues lack of marksman

Giuseppe Marotta says Juventus lack a clinical finisher after they succumbed to their first Serie A defeat in 18 months against Inter Milan.

Juve scored inside 19 seconds thanks to Arturo Vidal’s controversial opener, but Andrea Stramaccioni’s men hit back in the second half thanks to a double from Diego Milito and Rodrigo Palacio’s late strike to end the match in the visitors’ favour.

Juve general manager Marotta felt the result might have been different had the hosts possessed a better goal threat in their ranks.

“Was our attack light? Yes, maybe with a more clinical striker we might’ve had a different result,” he told Tuttosport.

“We knew that (Inter) are among the contenders for the Scudetto, but we were not at our best. We were not able to maintain our intensity and we missed out on too many counterattacks.

Marotta reflected on the decision to sanction Vidal’s goal, and also conceded Juve’s participation in the Champions League is proving an added burden on the club’s playing resources this season.

“Maybe we’re paying – more than others – a price for the high number of matches played this season,” he said.

“Was our goal affected by an offside? The phase of play was quick and the linesman was probably not positioned perfectly.”

Juve resume their European campaign against Nordsjaelland on Wednesday, as they seek to record a first win in the 2012/13 Champions League.