Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti believes his side should have taken more risks against Milan on Sunday evening.
For the second time this season, the two old rivals settled for a goalless draw. Although the contest took place at San Siro, the Bianconeri took control of the action for the bulk of the match, while the hosts sat back and tried to harry their opponents on the counterattack.
In the end, neither side was able to score, so the two clubs ended up preserving the status quo, with the Rossoneri remaining in third place three points ahead of the Old Lady.
After the game, Spalletti admitted that Juventus should have pushed forward with a bit more intensity, but were perhaps too afraid of Milan’s counterattacks.
“We did little to win it. We were a bit hesitant to fully take control of the game and risk something—and there’s always risk in a match,” said the 67-year-old in one of his post-match interviews via JuventusNews24.
“In this case, we knew it too, and when you know the risk, it almost becomes less of one because you understand where it’s coming from.
“But they’re very good at making you feel in control, making you forget the key areas, drawing you into the game, then winning the ball back and flipping the pitch in an instant. That thought held us back a bit.
“In the second half, we were freer, we tried a few moments of inspiration, some individual plays. We tried to put some heart into it as well, but we couldn’t quite manage it.
“They dropped very deep toward the end, and all things considered, it’s fine like this. Because if what we feared had happened and we’d lost a game like this, people would be talking about a team lacking maturity and intelligence. So the result is fair, and what we take from it is fair too.”
While Spalletti wasn’t fully satisfied with the collective approach, he only had words of praise for the individuals, beginning with Jonathan David, even though he failed to score.
“When there isn’t much physical contact, he’s able to tidy up situations. He’s a player who runs a lot—his dynamism and pressing always have an impact on the game.
“He’s not explosive over short distances and doesn’t beat his man easily in tight spaces, but in terms of linking up with the team, he’s excellent.
“We needed to create more support around him, because too often, especially in the first half, as he was isolated up front. Still, he put in a good performance.”
The Juventus boss was also delighted with Francisco Conceicao, who put on an impressive showing, but still has a large room for improvement.
“Chico is already a mature player, someone you can really build an important future around. He understands his great strengths and his smaller flaws. Now it’s about coaching him and adding more to what he already shows.
“When he drops his head and goes one-on-one, he beats you every time. But then he loses sight of the bigger picture—the team, the spaces that open up because he always draws a second defender.
“He’s the kind of player who creates problems for the opposition, forcing them to focus on him, which frees up other areas—but he doesn’t always register those situations. The fact he recognises this himself means we’re already in a very good place.”
Kenan Yildiz was only introduced late in the game, while Dusan Vlahovic only played for a few minutes.
Spalletti confirmed the duo had been training all week separately, hence why he couldn’t bring them in earlier in the game.
“In the second half, Dusan’s presence could have helped us, but he only returned to training on Friday. Yildiz came on a bit earlier as well, but struggled with his breathing.
“Dusan is coming off a long injury layoff and had a setback while he was already out for three games, so playing him more would have been a risk.
“He’ll be able to help us in these final matches. We have to be logical—he got his minutes, and that’s fine.”
Finally, Spalletti was asked about the refereeing scandal involving Gianluca Rocchi and others, which rocked Italian football this weekend, but instead opened up on his own experience with the Italian national team.
“It’s difficult for me to comment… Many times in my career, I thought I knew everything—like during my time with the national team—but I didn’t.
“What I know I’m good at is building relationships with players, creating empathy, and working together. I went there and it didn’t work.
“From the outside, it might look like there were some controversial moments, but if we really care about football right now, we need to wait and avoid unnecessary comments. Mine would be one of those, so I’d rather not make it.”
The post “We did little to win” – Spalletti criticises team’s approach vs Milan, hails ‘excellent’ Juventus striker appeared first on Juvefc.com.
