Luciano Spalletti said Juventus lost their defensive balance due to their intense desire to win after the Bianconeri’s 3-2 defeat at Sassuolo, turning behind twice before Vasilje Adzic’s last-gasp kick. The results, detailed in Juventus Football Club pre-match coverageIt ended Juventus’ record of conceding only one goal in the first three rounds of this season.
Edon Zhegrova was the standout performer off the bench, scoring his first two goals in a Juventus shirt to help the visitors equalize twice at the Mapei Stadium. Sassuolo responded from Sebastiano Esposito, Kieron Bowie and Adzic, on loan from Juventus, who scored the final goal of the game.
Eight players forward, huge gap behind
Spalletti pinpointed the moment when his team lost momentum, explaining that eight Juventus players pushed forward to attack, leaving huge space for the defence. He reportedly took responsibility for encouraging this, saying the players believed they could win games and that he was the one pushing them to do so, although perhaps they took his instructions too literally. Gianluca Di Marzio.
In Sassuolo’s first game, Spalletti admitted that his team was not aggressive enough and the defense was positioned too high, causing the offside trap to fail. He called it a mistake that Juventus must correct, while still focusing on the underlying intention of chasing all three points rather than a draw.
A team plagued by injuries
Juventus lost Manuel Locatelli, Jeremy Boga, Weston McKennie, Andrea Cambiaso, Kenan Yieldiz, Kefren Thuram, Jeff Héctor and Juan Cabal in this defeat, see details Juventus injured list. Randal Kolo Muani struggled to make an impact and Spalletti felt he should have received the ball more often to keep the game going, while substitute Nick Woltemade headed wide in stoppage time.
Spalletti had the warmest praise for Zheglova, saying he was unpredictable and unstoppable when running at defenders, although he sometimes held onto the ball for too long and could track back more when possession was lost.
