Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici believes that the Bianconeri’s Serie A defeat to Inter last month was therapeutic, as they challenge to retain the Scudetto.

Inter stunned their bitter rivals with a dominant 2-0 victory at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in mid-January, with goals from Arturo Vidal and Nicolo Barella earning a first Derby d’Italia win since September 2016.

The Bianconeri went into the match off the back of four straight victories in all competitions, including inflicting a first league defeat of the season on AC Milan.

Similarly, Juventus have found form since the defeat and a 2-0 win over Roma yesterday saw them earn another four consecutive wins, including a 2-1 win over Inter in the Coppa Italia Semi-Final first leg last Tuesday.

Speaking to Italian television channel Sky Sport Italia ahead of kick-off in the victory over Roma, Paratici suggested that the loss against Inter had not damaged his team and that they had shown their credentials before and after.

“Aside from the therapeutic defeat to Inter, we had won the previous four matches,” Paratici claimed.

“It is not easy to win 10 matches in a row, the coach needs to know the players and the players need to know each other over time. In the summer we didn’t have the opportunity for a proper pre-season and had to build on this during the campaign.”