Spalletti: ‘Juventus certainly need to improve’ after 0-0 with Torino

Luciano Spalletti outlines where Juventus ‘certainly need to improve’ and admits they were lacking ‘quality’ in their 0-0 draw with Torino, but explains some of his choices.

The Bianconeri already seem to have lost some of the momentum from the sacking of Igor Tudor, as after wins over Udinese under caretaker manager Massimo Brambilla and Cremonese on Spalletti’s debut, they were held to two consecutive stalemates.

Sporting CP earned a 1-1 Champions League result at the Allianz Juventus Stadium midweek and Torino frustrated them in a 0-0 during today’s Derby della Mole.

“When there is density packing the midfield, you have to raise the quality level, and take the normal passes more quickly to make them more effective,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.

“If you pass it two metres forward rather than sideways or backwards, it prevents the opponents getting into position. This is where we certainly need to improve. We were unable to have moves with the kind of quality that we know that the team has.

“There was also some fatigue after the Champions League midweek, but I am still happy that the team pushed for the whole game.”

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The goalkeepers were decisive this evening for the 0-0 result, as both Michele Di Gregorio and Alberto Paleari had to make big saves.

“We allowed a couple of counter-attacks, but Di Gregorio’s big save was a double ricochet, so it was a bit of a fluke to create that opportunity. We did what we needed to do and largely kept Torino under pressure throughout,” insisted Spalletti.

Edon Zhegrova impressed when coming off the bench and put in a series of crosses, but it was at this stage that Dusan Vlahovic came off. Should the Serbian not have stayed on?

“Jonathan David is very good inside the penalty area, he can have his say there, even if he is not that physical. Vlahovic had this pain in his back, he showed courage to be at our disposal and battle hard, but was really drained by the time he came off,” explained Spalletti.

“It’s true that Vlahovic is a more physical presence, but it’s fair that he would benefit from the crosses of Zhegrova. When we started to pin Torino back in those closing stages, that is what we need to do, we were just lacking the finish.”

Marco Baroni was suspended this evening and watched from the stands, but Spalletti seemed to have something to say to assistant manager Leonardo Colucci at the final whistle.

“I’ve known Colucci for a very long time, I know his coach well too. I just said there was a player on the touchline who twice pretended to give us back the ball and then didn’t do it, so that all gets on camera, it is avoidable and not pleasant to see,” explained the former Italy boss.

There is at least one piece of good news for Spalletti, as this was his 1,000th point in Serie A, becoming only the fifth to achieve this milestone (counting three points for a win) after Giovanni Trapattoni, Nereo Rocco, Nils Liedholm and Massimiliano Allegri.