Juventus midfielder Diego admits their Scudetto hopes are receding.

After defeat to Cagliari, Juve dropped down to third place in Serie A and now lie eight points adrift of League leaders Inter Milan.

Writing on his own website, Diego said: "We were far from seeing our best football and lost three points that would have been decisive later in the championship.

"We cannot allow ourselves to lose any more games and we have to hope Inter make some slip-ups. Our next match will be a direct title clash with the Nerazzurri, a difficult but great challenge.

"We will have to work hard this week to correct the mistakes and go on the pitch to assist in a different style of play because the result against Cagliari has left out objective to win the Scudetto more difficult to realise.

"This new phase has to begin with the next match."