Spalletti: ‘Real Juventus opponents are ourselves, we lack self belief’
Luciano Spalletti admits the ‘real opponents for Juventus are ourselves’ after visible psychological fragility in the 2-0 defeat to Como. ‘It’s all about self-belief.’
The Bianconeri’s form goes from bad to worse, as they have now scraped only one draw in the last five competitive games.
If they could look to the red cards for their losses to Inter and Galatasaray, there was no such excuse against Como, as costly defensive and goalkeeping errors allowed Mergim Vojvoda and Maxence Caqueret to secure a 2-0 result in Turin.
Spalletti recognises Juventus crisis
“The performance was also dictated by that first goal, because incidents do make the difference,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.
“We tried to get back into the game with individual pressing, but they forced us to go after them with their quality and possession.
“When you concede the opening goal 13 times, you pay for that in the long run.”
“There was a spell when we had enthusiasm and some wonderful performances, then when that is lacking, so is the self-belief, the errors prove costly, and it becomes difficult to react psychologically,” added Spalletti.
“This is how it works in the heads of the players, there is too much pressure over recent results, and these moments make the difference.”
There were very loud jeers at the final whistle from the home fans, who have grown frustrated with the lack of character shown by this squad.
In the next week, they will try to overturn a 5-2 Champions League play-off defeat to Galatasaray, then visit Roma in Serie A.
“It’s all about self-belief, that we have what it takes. We had managed to create that belief in our potential, but when confidence and a sense of authority goes… I saw misplaced passes that are simply never done by my players. It’s not something that happens, and they feel trapped by the situation.”
This is the 13th time in the current Serie A campaign that Juve conceded with the first shot on target, and once again goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio looked surprisingly shaky, beaten by an effort at the near post.
“Di Gregorio has no extra responsibility compared to all his teammates. He makes a mistake, just as the superficial back-pass was a mistake in the build-up. Everyone could’ve done better defending that situation, not losing the ball cheaply, the responsibility must always be shared.”
Juventus were without Pierre Kalulu this afternoon, as he was suspended despite the appeal over Alessandro Bastoni’s simulation and that second yellow card against Inter.
Gleison Bremer, Emil Holm, Dusan Vlahovic and Arek Milik were also injured, with Jonathan David not fully fit, but Manuel Locatelli will sit out a ban against Roma.
“Our opponents are in this case ourselves. If we can sort some things out on a psychological and technical level, then we can have our say. If this is our level, then we’ll lose and cannot have ambition for any result,” confessed Spalletti.