Ancelotti Accepts Juve's Stunning 1-0 Defeat
PERUGIA, Italy, May 14 (Reuters)(DS) - Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Sunday he accepted his side's 1-0 defeat at Perugia but described the match as "strange". "It's no one's fault that we lost the championship today," Ancelotti said after his side's stunning defeat in a match delayed by over an hour at halftime due to torrential rain which made the pitch unplayable.
"The match was all above board but it was very strange," he added when asked if he thought referee Pierluigi Collina was
right to restart the game after such a long delay and on a pitch which was still heavy with water. "It was for the referee to decide and we waited for his decision," the Juve coach said.
Juve's defeat combined with Lazio's 3-0 win against Reggina at the Olympic Stadium to give Lazio their first league title in
26 years and only the second of their 100-year history. Lazio finished the campaign on 72 points to Juventus's 71. Juve had led the championship for the previous 13 weeks and held a nine-point lead just two months ago.
No team has ever lost an Italian league title from such a dominant position. "It's been a terrible afternoon for us -- disappointing and bitter," Ancelotti said. "But the fact still remains that we've had a tremendous season. "We're disappointed because we deserved to win but I think Lazio deserved to win too. "We tried our best but it's been a difficult season because the competition has been so tough. In the end we lost out by the width of a razor's edge. "This strange afternoon will remain in my mind for a long time," Ancelotti concluded.
