Luciano Spalletti insists Juventus need to ‘not ask permission or wait to be invited’ after a 1-1 draw with Milan, but also assures he’s ‘staying with Randal Kolo Muani’ to the end.
It was a tough test in Turin, as Francisco Conceicao forced several saves and hit the woodwork, but Milan had taken the lead through Alphadjo Cisse’s solo strike, the only genuine Rossoneri opportunity of the match.
A substitute proved decisive for Juve, as Federico Gatti was thrown on as more of an adjunct centre-forward than a defender, nodding in the Teun Koopmeiners cross from six yards in stoppages for the 1-1 draw.
“These are the foundations to build on, because we put in the performance, Juventus pressed them constantly and tried to raise the tempo of the game even at 0-0,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.
“We had the right intentions, but clearly we need to improve the choices that we make, and not ask permission in these games. You can’t wait to be invited, you have to go there and take the game by the scruff of the neck.”
There were again numerous crosses into the box without anyone on the end of them, along with disappointing corners and free kicks, but Spalletti stood up for under-fire Kolo Muani.
“I don’t know if it’s a problem, but Nick Woltemade has that capability in the box, so he can be someone to aim for. With Kolo Muani, I will stay on this path and see at the end where this path takes us, I choose Kolo Muani as a striker and will stick with him to the end of the season. When we get there, we’ll see where we are.”
Juve are dealing with an injury crisis that ruled out Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Weston McKennie, Andrea Cambiaso, Jeff Ekhator, Juan Cabal and Pape Matar Sarr, so gave Kerim Alajbegovic and Nico Gonzalez their first starts of the season.
“When we found ourselves in the final third to break through their defensive line, that is where we need to improve. We’ve also got to improve constructing the chances, because we were in those positions many times and just needed the ball 5cm higher, or on the right foot instead of the left, these are tiny details that can make the difference,” added Spalletti.
“The team had the strength to keep pushing, as it didn’t deserve to go behind, but kept the same determination to keep going with that same attitude, and was rewarded with the equaliser.
“Milan are a great team, there’s no getting around that. We can become a great team, as we showed again today, so I have faith and thank the players for what they showed today.”