Spalletti says Juventus lost their balance in Sassuolo defeat

Luciano Spalletti said Juventus paid the price for losing their defensive balance as they attempted to recover from a 3-2 defeat by Sassuolo in Serie A.

Juventus were beaten at Sassuolo in the fourth round of the Italian league, leaving them with seven points from their opening matches and eighth in the table.

Speaking to DAZN after the game, Juventus manager Spalletti said his side had deserved an opportunity to turn the match around.

“It hurts me a lot because the team deserved a chance to change the game,” he said. “It is clear that we lost our balance, and that is something we must not do. We could have scored and made it 3-2.”

Spalletti accepted responsibility for the way Juventus pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but said the attacking intent behind their approach had been positive.

“The players tried to go out and win the match, and I was the one encouraging them to do that,” he added. “Perhaps they followed my instructions too literally, with too many players moving into the penalty area. But we must also recognise that the team’s attacking intention was positive.”

The Juventus boss was particularly critical of his side’s reaction during Esposito’s goal, saying they had failed to apply enough pressure when trying to regain possession.

“For Esposito’s goal, we were not aggressive enough when we tried to win the ball back,” said Spalletti. “We left spaces and we have to take responsibility for that. It is something we need to improve.”

He also called for Juventus to involve Randal Kolo Muani more often in their attacking play.

“We need to play through Kolo Muani more because we are not making enough use of him,” Spalletti said. “At the same time, there are situations in which he needs to be more decisive.”

Spalletti praised the individual quality of Edon Zhegrova, particularly when the winger is facing opponents in tight areas, although he also identified aspects of his game that require improvement.

“He has the quality to be an unpredictable player when he takes on opponents one-on-one in narrow spaces,” he said.

“Sometimes he keeps the ball for too long instead of passing to Kalo when he makes a run towards goal. On other occasions, he can lose possession too easily and does not have the ability to recover and chase it. But if you play an attacking style and can keep the game in the opposition half, he is an outstanding player.”

Spalletti also pointed to two missed opportunities involving Woltemade and Kolo Muani that might have altered the outcome.

“If Woltemade had passed the ball to Kolo Muani earlier, he would have been through on goal,” he said. “And if he had dealt properly with that header at the far post, it would have been a great chance.”