Luciano Spalletti said Juventus must change after they were beaten 3-0 by Lazio in Serie A, admitting he was also surprised by a performance in which his side were “inferior” in every department.
The Bianconeri had enjoyed a 2-1 comeback win at Celta Vigo in the Europa League on Thursday, but failed to carry that momentum into their home match in Turin.
Lazio took control through Oliver Provstgaard’s header and a Gustav Isaksen angled drive before Fisayo Dele-Bashiru completed the victory with a late counter-attack. Juventus rarely looked capable of recovering.
Spalletti was unable to take his place on the touchline because of a suspension following his altercation with Cagliari manager Fabio Pisacane. Assistant manager Marco Domenichini instead oversaw the team.
“It was certainly an inferior Juventus, a team that did not control the game, nor have ideas on where to take the game,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.
“It’s hard to explain it even to ourselves, because we returned at 4am on Friday from Vigo, then let the players recover with the physical performance staff.
“We tried to change a few things, there were six new players, but we were slow both in legs and mind. In football, you can see the opponents, you can see the ball, and if you are too slow to react, show no heart or rhythm, tactics and systems become irrelevant.”
The defeat left Juventus eight points behind the Serie A leaders after seven rounds, with only 11 points collected. Supporters who stayed until the final whistle jeered and insulted the players.
Spalletti said the team’s attitude had been a major concern.
“Without tempo, without ideas, without running, without the desire to work hard, and when there is fragility in duels, letting heads drop when things aren’t working, those are all things I did not like,” he added.
Gennaro Gattuso had suggested that modern players can be more inclined to give up when they encounter difficulties. Spalletti said Juventus had to respond rather than allow the match to dictate their actions.
“The important thing is to show a reaction, not abandon yourself to events,” he said.
“Our careers aren’t just down to luck, we’ve got to fight for those opportunities. We are forced to learn that lesson. There are youngsters today who fight and others who let themselves fall down at the first stumble, but every person has a different character.”
Juventus have one fewer point than Igor Tudor’s side had at the same stage last season, when he was facing the imminent sack. Thiago Motta had 13 points after seven matches during his brief campaign.
Spalletti accepted that changes were now required, either in his communication with the squad or in the team’s working methods.
“Clearly, we need to analyse and there are only two possibilities. We can either discuss the way we talk to the team, or the working method. Something has to be modified, evidently,” he said.
“I was surprised by this performance too, so I need to think hard about it, because I haven’t changed my way of talking to the players, I want to communicate with them, to have a good rapport with them. That has always been my way.
“Maybe I need to analyse my own rapport with the team, because it is honest and fair. They will recognise themselves that what we did today is not good enough.”
