Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus – Spalletti defends Vlahovic & admits ‘we were too predictable’

Luciano Spalletti did not hide his frustration after Juventus came away from Fiorentina with only a point, insisting his side must “raise the level” if they want to stay on track for their ambitions this season.

Juve were held to a 1-1 draw at the Franchi, a result that extends their unbeaten run but once again highlighted recurring issues in possession and decision-making.

Spalletti admitted the performance fell short of what he expects from a team pushing to compete at the top end of Serie A.

“We were too predictable in the first half and made too many technical mistakes,” he said, with quotes via IlBianconero.

“Those are errors we simply can’t afford because our level has to be higher. It was a difficult match against a side eager to react. Vanoli gives energy and aggression to his players: we know him well. But we’ve been chosen to do more, and we absolutely need to raise the level.”

Spalletti insisted his ambition for Juventus remains unchanged. “As I’ve said, we must have the Scudetto fight as our ambition, that’s different from saying we’re already there. I believe we can give more than what we showed today. The silence in the dressing room tells me the players weren’t happy either, and I like that. Now we need to show a different level of football.”

He also felt the team struggled to bring Kenan Yildiz into play. “We found him too little. We kept the ball too often on the defensive perimeter, when we needed to skip a pass and play vertically. Yildiz was more central early on, then moved to the left, but we have to involve him more.”

Spalletti closed by condemning the hostile chants aimed at Vlahovic: “Dusan reacts in the right way, but socially we must stop going to the stadium to do things that have nothing to do with sport. The more this happens, the more we ruin the most beautiful game in the world.”