Juventus's Antonio Conte: 'Sampdoria defeat will help us grow'

Juventus coach Antonio Conte has played down the significance of his side's 2-1 home defeat to Sampdoria in Serie A on Sunday.

The defending Italian champions took the lead through Sebastian Giovinco in the first half, but conceded twice in the second 45 minutes to a Genoa side who were reduced to 10 men just after the half-hour mark.

"This is a game that we must reflect on and will help us to grow up," Conte told reporters. "It's part of the maturation process for a young side, let's put it like that.

"It is certainly irritating to lose on counter-attacks and we will analyse what we did wrong today. Juventus are only human, we are not Martians.

"There are two tough months ahead of us and we've got to grit our teeth to give our all. We created a great deal in the second half, but were not particularly precise in our finishing."

Juventus's lead at the top of the Serie A table is now five points.