Mihajlovic: 'Feels like Toro victory'

By Football Italia staff

Sinisa Mihajlovic insists the Afriyie Acquah red card was “an unjustifiable error,” but Torino’s draw with Juventus “feels like a win.”

Adem Ljajic’s free kick had put the Granata ahead in the Derby della Mole, but Acquah received two extremely debatable bookings and Gonzalo Higuain equalised deep into stoppages.

“I could see from the touchline he got the ball cleanly. It doesn’t take a nuclear scientist to tell that. What is the fourth official there for? He was in an even better position to see than me,” Mihajlovic told Mediaset Premium after his own dismissal for dissent.

“It was an unjustifiable mistake and not the only one, as in the first half we got three yellow cards for a perfectly fair game. I went to the fourth official and asked why don’t you help the referee? He must’ve seen it better, the referee didn’t whistle for a good six or seven seconds, so he too was waiting for help.

“I went over the top, I know that, but it was an unjustifiable error. Playing here down to 10 men is hard for everyone, we might’ve equalised anyway, but at least give us a chance.

“I don’t know if the referee made this decision or, even worse, the assistants told him it was a foul, because they were in a better position to see that it wasn’t.”

Mihajlovic is likely to get a touchline ban for going head-to-head with the fourth official.

Torino did nonetheless end the all-time Serie A record of 33 consecutive home Juventus victories.

“This draw is worth a win, because I am so proud of my lads. We had character, tactical intelligence and determination. We did something nobody else had been able to do, which was to stop Juventus winning at home in Serie A and down to 10 men too.

“Juve had the chances to equalise and we did let in that avoidable equaliser in stoppages. I had told Ljajic in the final minute he shouldn’t have taken that free kick into the stands, because we wasted the chance to keep possession – if we’ve got the ball, they can’t score. Instead Juve immediately went forward and scored.

“We are a young team, so we lack experience and ‘smarts’ – but above all we lacked the determination to score more goals and the cool heads to not concede.

“Nonetheless, we came here and fought hard, knowing that if we played to our best, it would not be easy even for Juventus.

“It feels like a victory. My players had a fantastic game, there is bitterness at the result, but pride over the performance. You can beat a team, but not history and this evening we put our history on to the pitch.

“Juve had more chances than us, of course, and if they had scored earlier, it would’ve been less painful. We conceded at the 92nd minute, when the game was practically over, so at that moment we could feel the win and it’s the worst time to concede.”

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