Juventus coach Max Allegri defended his players after their 4-1 thrashing at Empoli.
Juve were rocked before kickoff when it was announced had 10-point penalty had been handed to the club for their capital gains controversy.
“It’s too reductive to encompass the game and the whole season like this,” Allegri told DAZN.
“We must not find alibis or excuses, as we are Juventus, we are accustomed to winning or at least fighting to win. There are now two more games to play, we’ve got to stick together and Milan are going to visit on Sunday.
“Naturally, it was a strange situation that the sentence came in 10 minutes before we went out there. We conceded at their first scoring opportunity, then conceded another. We had the chances to close the gap, but didn’t take them.
“That does not justify the mental collapse. Right now all we can do is stay quiet and accept the defeat. Before the game, we had earned 69 points and were second in the table, let that be clear.
“Even after the 10-point penalty, with a win today we’d have had the chance to fight it out with Milan for Champions League qualification. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way.
“I cannot reproach the lads, because I can assure you it was not an easy situation. The next few days won’t be easy either, because we went out of the Europa League, then had this news 10 minutes before kick-off, while for three months we’ve had points taken away and given back.
“It’s not justification, but this is without doubt an anomalous season for us, and despite it all the team earned 69 points.”
Asked if he exhausted all resources available to him, Allegri continued: “You go nowhere with ifs and buts. Tonight we could’ve put ourselves in a position to challenge Milan for a Champions League space. It feels like ever since January we’ve been playing these games. We’ve got Atalanta and Roma in front of us, we must try to get six points and remain effectively second in the table, which we are.
“I can assure you the team did the maximum it possibly could in the circumstances. This has been a surreal situation, the team if anything did better than expected.
“The psychological aspect is fundamental in football. Just 15 minutes before the game, we were second in the table and had 69 points. It’s a very different situation to being five points off fifth-placed Milan.
“You step onto the field and have to win yes again, because we have to catch up yet again, because every time we pop our heads up for air, they push us back down. After Thursday as well, it was natural the lads would be running on empty too.”
