Spalletti: ‘Juventus took 3 steps back with Galatasaray, always risk conceding’
Luciano Spalletti admits Juventus ‘took three steps back’ in their 5-2 Champions League play-off defeat to Galatasaray, warning they are ‘always at risk of conceding goals.’
The Bianconeri had managed to turn around an early Gabriel Sara goal with the Teun Koopmeiners brace to go into half-time leading 2-1 in Istanbul.
It all fell apart after the break, when Juan Cabal replaced Andrea Cambiaso because the Italian was on a yellow card, but he made two crucial errors for goals and then received a red card.
Juve crumbled down to 10 men, as Noa Lang scored twice, plus Davinson Sanchez and Sacha Boey for the 5-2 result.
Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
Spalletti does not hold back on dire Juventus performance
“We ended the first half badly, tried to get back into shape and changed a few things, but we really dropped off in terms of character,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was not one step back, but three steps back this evening. Clearly, Cambiaso risked a second yellow card at the end of the first half, in these games when you have someone on a card, it is wise to do something with the substitutions.
“However, we received two more yellow cards in the first 15-odd minutes, then we did further damage to ourselves by not recognising the danger in those situations.”
Is it a problem for Juventus that they consistently concede so many goals, especially in Europe?
“I am convinced that we can lighten the load on the defence if we manage to play football. If we set up barricades and go on the counter, we don’t have players suited to that sort of approach, we don’t have those solid enough to let nothing through,” noted Spalletti.
“So I believe attack is the best form of defence, taking the front foot. If we drop below our standards of quality, then we are always at risk of conceding goals.”
The first, fourth and fifth goals came from giving the ball away and not playing it effectively out from the back, so should Spalletti encourage his defenders to just clear it when under that kind of pressure?
“I want them to play the ball in normal situations, but when there is extreme danger, you kick it away. I want us to create something going forward, not just breaking up the play. Not every situation is the same, sometimes you kick it away and release some pressure. I like to play the ball in general, but there are different situations.
“When down to 10 men, that’s a difficult situation, we made the substitution to take pressure off one player and his replacement receives two yellow cards in 20 minutes, that makes everything tougher.
“Quite apart from the cards, the whole team took a few steps back in various ways today.”
Juventus now have a huge mountain to climb for the second leg of the Champions League play-off, as they need a 3-0 result just to force extra time.
“Of course we’ll try to climb that mountain, try to organise a comeback. Clearly, we must take on responsibility for what happened and for the decisions we take during the match,” noted Spalletti.
“From now on, it’s pointless saying lots of words if we don’t back it up with action. We do some things well recently, but always manage to create problems for ourselves too.
“When it comes to recognising certain situations, we weren’t at the top yet anyway, and today managed to make it worse. The red card added to the difficulties, but we still have to respond and do our duty to a group of fans, a whole city, and a club.”
Gleison Bremer limped off during half-time with a muscular issue, so is there any news yet on his condition?
“We have to evaluate Bremer, as he might have some problems.”