Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti left the Allianz Stadium a considerably happier man than he had arrived, and singled out debutant Kamil Grabara after a 5-0 Europa League win over NEC Nijmegen.
The coach told Sky Sport Italia: “I am extremely satisfied. They went onto the pitch clear-headed, they turned doubts into decisions and they made them well. They managed to make the most of their desire to do something. Nico was good on the first goal to hook onto that ball.”
Grabara kept a clean sheet on his first appearance for the club, and Spalletti was keen to acknowledge it.
“Let me congratulate Grabara, who showed composure and the ability to play with his feet,” he said. “In these games goalkeepers become the extra man, and if you can find a free man inside the pitch like that, spaces open up for you.”
He was not uncritical, noting the space conceded behind the defensive line, while defending the decision to change shape. “For what we showed, we could have been more compact and naturally left less space behind the back line. Given how it went, the choice to change something was the right one. This is a way we can use to interpret games, and it is how we won some matches last season. Now we have so few players that we have to adapt.”
Spalletti was also careful not to belittle the opposition, pointing to NEC’s third-place Eredivisie finish last season and their display against Bodo/Glimt.
“Tonight the players stayed focused. They were tripling up on every player and they could have become dangerous if they had taken over,” he said. “They do not worry about anything. They have lost some games heavily, but in the next one they go even harder.”
Asked what Zeki Celik was doing in the middle of the box for the fourth, Spalletti smiled: “When there are situations where you go exploring, they always create surprises.”
He closed on Randal Kolo Muani, revealing the striker’s frustration at his goalless start has run deep. “He has this depth in his running which is easily highlighted with these spaces. He also took a couple of kicks and has to know how to withstand the physical impact. He needs to put more strength into it because he is strong and healthy. Last night, with the training camp optional, he was the only one at dinner and he slept alone. He suffers enormously from not being able to contribute.”