Luciano Spalletti stands by his decisions at Juventus following the 1-1 draw against Cagliari, takes aim at Yerry Mina and explains what happened during the sending off that also involved Fabio Pisacane. “They are good at wasting time.”
The Bianconeri controlled possession in Sardinia, but gained very little from it, going into half-time trailing 1-0 with just one shot on target.
Daniel Maldini had scored for the fourth consecutive Serie A match, but as the second half progressed Juventus began to put pressure on Elia Caprile, especially after Edon Zhegrova came on.
In the 81st minute, Kerim Alajbegovic delivered a fine cross from the left for Randal Kolo Muani to head in at the far post, leveling the score and netting his first goal of the season. Shortly after, the striker could have scored again, but his powerful volley struck the lower part of the crossbar.
At the final whistle tension rose when the two coaches approached each other to shake hands. An unusual scuffle broke out that led to both Spalletti and Fabio Pisacane being sent off.
“Nothing happened. I told him they play good football and are good at wasting time. He replied: ‘What do you mean by wasting time?’ And they sent us both off. Nothing serious happened, all quite normal,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.
Kolo Muani admitted he felt “better” after Nick Woltemade came on, because his presence brought more men into the box and allowed him to move more freely, escaping the marking of defenders.
Asked about the possibility of fielding two strikers, Spalletti defended his tactical choices.
“In the first half I moved McKennie to the left and put Nico Gonzalez in the middle, to have him carry out the task that Woltemade later took on.
“Let’s not forget that Nico Gonzalez is a second striker and is the best header of the ball we have in the squad. The system has remained the same since I moved McKennie. Kolo Muani was the center-forward, with Nico Gonzalez behind him, but they were free to swap positions.
“If Kolo can move the way he did today, which I really liked, he becomes harder to mark. We also had a scoring chance, but the ball hit Nico Gonzalez on the knee and went wide.
“The important thing is to have the right determination and mental strength. I’m not looking at tonight’s result, but I’m thinking about the fact that I’m almost 70 and I want to end my career in a positive way. I want to do well and I’m not thinking about the result, because the performance was good and the lads need to hear that.
“If we always play like this, I’m convinced we will win many more matches.”
Despite the possession, Juventus had managed only one shot on target in the first half and continues to struggle to score in Serie A this season.
“Kolo Muani did well to score in the middle of all that traffic. Those are situations we struggle to exploit, but he managed to create the space he needed. He is physically strong and knows how to be decisive,” Spalletti continued.
“We just have to improve our finishing. I want to congratulate my players for the performance, but at the same time I’m a bit angry, because we should be winning these matches.”
Asked whether the team lacked the character and grit that define their coach, Spalletti replied: “This squad has potential. We try to analyze situations and give something extra to make up for what we’re missing, but that’s normal.”
Cagliari defender Yerry Mina kept provoking his opponents and, according to reports, there was further tension with Spalletti in the tunnel during half-time.
“It’s exactly what happened last season. He drags us into his game with the behavior of a strong player…,” Spalletti commented with a certain irony.
“You have to be protected from certain attitudes, but then you play and whoever takes home the points and prevails in the episodes has more strength. You have to be obsessed with winning, not wait for it to arrive by chance. We are the ones who have to go after it and make it happen.”
With this draw, Juventus remains behind Cagliari in the Serie A table and has claimed just one win in their last four league matches.