Luciano Spalletti urges Juventus to make their own luck after Cagliari draw

Luciano Spalletti said Juventus must develop an obsession with winning rather than waiting for victories to happen after a 1-1 draw with Cagliari in Serie A.

The Juventus manager defended his tactical decisions after seeing his side dominate possession in Sardinia but struggle to create clear chances. Juventus had managed only one effort on target by half-time and went into the break trailing to Daniele Maldini’s goal.

Randal Kolo Muani headed Juventus level in the 81st minute, scoring his first goal of the season, but the France forward later struck the underside of the crossbar with a direct effort as the visitors sought a winner.

Speaking to DAZN, Spalletti played down his confrontation with Cagliari manager Fabio Pisacane, which ended with both coaches being sent off.

“Nothing major happened with the Cagliari manager,” said Spalletti. “I told him they play good football and are good at wasting time. He asked what I meant by wasting time, and then they sent both of us off. It was not a big issue; everything was fairly normal.”

Spalletti also explained his decision to adjust Juventus’ attacking shape after Kolo Muani indicated he felt more comfortable when Nick Woltemade was playing, because there were more players in the penalty area and more space to move away from defenders.

“In the first half, I moved Weston McKennie to the left and put Nico Gonzalez centrally to perform the role Woltemade later took on,” Spalletti said.

“Do not forget that Nico Gonzalez is a supporting striker and our best player in the air. The system remained the same after McKennie moved, with Kolo Muani as the centre-forward and Nico behind him, but they were free to exchange positions.

“When Kolo Muani is allowed to move in the way he did today, which I liked very much, he becomes difficult to mark. We also had a chance to score, but the ball hit Nico Gonzalez’s knee and went wide.”

The Juventus boss said his players needed to become more effective in front of goal, while praising their overall performance.

“What matters most is having the right determination and mental strength,” he said. “I am not looking at tonight’s result. I am approaching 70 and want to finish my career strongly. I want to do a good job, and I am not thinking about the result because the performance was good and the players need to understand that.

“If they always play like this, I am convinced we will win a lot of matches.”

Spalletti also criticised Yerry Mina, who had been involved in several disputes with opponents and was reportedly involved in another confrontation with the Juventus manager in the tunnel at half-time.

“That is exactly what happened last season,” Spalletti said sarcastically. “He gets us tense with behaviour that resembles that of a tough player.”

The result left Juventus below Cagliari in the Serie A table, with only one victory in their past four league matches. Edon Zhegrova’s introduction helped increase the pressure in the second half, before Kerim Alajbegovic crossed from the left for Kolo Muani to head in at the far post. The final whistle was followed by further tension between Spalletti and Pisacane during their handshake.