Montella: Higuain was the difference against 'tired' Milan

Vincenzo Montella attributed AC Milan's defeat against Juventus to fatigue and the quality of Gonzalo Higuain, claiming his side have consistently matched top-class opponents this season.

The Rossoneri are now four without a win in all competitions at San Siro, while they have lost to four of Serie A's top six - Juve, Inter, Roma and Lazio.

But Montella is adamant Milan have not deserved to be on the end of such a poor series of results and pointed to multiple factors for the 2-0 reverse to the Bianconeri as pressure increased on his position.

"It was a very balanced match, one we played on even terms with Juventus, but the difference was made by Higuain with two great goals," he told Mediaset Premium.

"As far as I am concerned, the team put in a good performance; we were just a little tired. We were balanced and had twice as many shots as Juve. We could've broken the deadlock earlier, but their strikers did better.

"We are a restructured squad and, in the games against the big clubs, apart from 15 minutes with Lazio, we have always played on level terms.

"This is scant consolation, but we must be more clinical in front of goal."

Milan face AEK Athens in the Europa League next, while they could fall into the bottom half of the league table on Sunday.