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JUVENTUS CONFIRM KENAN YILDIZ INJURY SETBACK AHEAD OF SPALLETTI’S MANAGERIAL DEBUT.

New Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti's debut is hampered as star attacker Kenan Yildiz joins defender Gleison Bremer on the injury list for the crucial Serie A clash against Cremonese.

Juventus confirm Kenan Yildiz injury setback ahead of Spalletti’s managerial debut.
Disappointment for fans—Yildiz out injured for Spalletti’s Juve debut - COURTESY/PHOTO

When Juventus' new manager made his managerial debut this weekend against Cremonese, we already knew he would be without the club's greatest defence. We learned that Spalletti would also be without the Bianconeri's top attacking player when Juventus left for Cremona on Friday night.

Due to a knee injury that caused him to start on the bench against Lazio in what turned out to be Igor Tudor's final game as manager in Turin, Juventus star attacker Kenan Yildiz was left out of the travelling squad for Saturday night's match against Cremonese, which pits seventh place against eighth place. Yildiz played the entire game and scored from the penalty spot three days later in Juventus' victory over Udinese, which stopped their eight-game losing streak, even though he only participated in the second half at the Stadio Olimpico. Thus, it was hoped that Yildiz's small knee problem, which Tudor claimed was bothering him last week, would be resolved.

It turns out that it isn't, and as a result, Spalletti will not have him available for his debut game as manager of Juventus.

Due to an injury, Lloyd Kelly will also miss Saturday night's game. The same is true for the regular players who missed the match against Udinese in the middle of the week: Arek Milik, Carlo Pinsoglio, Juan Cabal, and Gleison Bremer.

The entire squad list for Juve’s encounter against Cremonese is as follows:

Luciano, welcome to Juventus. Gleison Bremer will not be in your first game. Yildiz will no longer be present in your first game. We wish you luck because, even if you only had one training session with your new team before travelling to Cremona for the weekend, those are two crucial players to not have at your disposal right now as you attempt to turn this around.

The fact that we do not know how Spalletti will line up against Cremonese on Saturday night is the added pleasure in all of this. With little training time after Tudor's dismissal, will he adopt Massimo Brambilla's strategy and stick with the three-man defence? Will he adopt the four-man backline he most frequently used at Napoli? Is it going to be a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3? We simply do not know!

However, we do know that Juventus is a worse team without Yildiz than they are when he plays. The last thing Spalletti needs is for both Bremer and Yildiz, his undisputed top two players on this team, to be sidelined for prolonged periods of time, so let us hope this knee problem does not persist.

TIRED OR TOUGH? THE CONFLICTING ITALIAN MEDIA REPORTS ON SCOTT MCTOMINAY’S PERFORMANCE

Scott McTominay and Napoli suffer Champions League elimination after a 3-2 home defeat to Chelsea's clinical Joao Pedro.

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Napoli and McTominay crashed out against Chelsea

Scott McTominay had a rough night as Napoli crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday. The reigning Serie A champs missed out on a play-off spot after losing at home to Chelsea.

It was a wild night in the Champions League, and Napoli ended up as one of the biggest letdowns. Even with home advantage against Liam Rosenior's team, they only managed to finish 30th overall. Chelsea, on the other hand, walked away with sixth.

McTominay, along with Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund, couldn’t stop Napoli from falling 3-2 in Naples. Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring, but Napoli hit back before halftime thanks to Antonio Vergara and Hojlund.

But after the break, Joao Pedro bagged a brace and sealed Napoli’s fate. The Italian press didn’t hold back in their reviews of McTominay’s performance.

Il Napolista gave McTominay a 6 out of 10. They liked his grit but pointed out he lost possession a few too many times in midfield. Still, they said he was a threat going forward—enough to give Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez something to worry about. But in the end, it just wasn’t enough for Conte’s side.

Il Messaggero also gave him a 6. They called his first half “average”, even though the game was played at a high level. After halftime, they thought he looked tired and didn’t live up to his usual standards.

Corriere dello Sport was a bit more generous with a 6.5. They praised his fighting spirit—classic Premier League style—and said he gave it everything he had. But as Serie A’s current MVP, expectations are high, and he just couldn’t find the goals Napoli needed.

Essere Partnopei matched that 6.5 rating. They praised his energy and said he was as active as ever, moving the ball well. Still, his efforts couldn’t keep Napoli from being knocked out.

Napoli Magazine skipped the ratings but said McTominay wasn’t at his best. He’s a key player for Conte and stayed committed, but it wasn’t enough to push Napoli into the next round.

"DON'T JUMP SHIP!" — ANTONIO CONTE’S EXPLOSIVE WARNING TO NAPOLI STARS AFTER JUVENTUS ROUT

Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund fail to fire as Juventus crush Napoli 3-0. Discover Conte’s defiant post-match reaction.

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Napoli slip to fourth as title rivals capitalise on defeat

Napoli just fell nine points behind in the Serie A title chase after Scott McTominay and the rest of the squad took a heavy 3-0 loss against Juventus.

The defending champs barely put up a fight at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Juventus looked sharp, closing the gap with Napoli to just a single point. Right now, Gli Azzurri sit fourth with 43 points, Juventus are right behind on 42, and Inter still lead the pack with 52. If Antonio Conte’s side wants to catch up, they’ve got a lot of work to do.

McTominay played the whole match for Napoli but couldn’t change the game. Frustration was obvious for the visitors. Rasmus Hojlund, on loan from Manchester United, struggled again and didn’t make much of a difference up front. While his parent club edged out Arsenal 3-2 in London, Hojlund missed two decent chances in Turin. He hasn’t scored for Napoli since late December.

Romelu Lukaku finally got back on the pitch after his injury, but with just 12 minutes left, the result was already settled. Juventus were two goals up—Jonathan David bagged the first, Kenan Yildiz added another, and Filip Kostic finished things off near the end with a third.

Napoli are still missing another Scot, Billy Gilmour, and creative midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is out hurt as well. Next up, Chelsea comes to Naples on Wednesday night. Napoli really needs a win to stay in the hunt for a Champions League play-off spot.

Conte faced up to the defeat but made it clear Napoli aren’t about to give up on the Scudetto—even with all these injuries.

Conte didn’t sugarcoat things:

“As long as it was 1-0, it felt close—like we might grab a draw,” he said. “But after their second goal, things opened up, and then they scored a third. Credit to them, but also to my guys. There’s not much to say or criticise. Even here in Turin, they gave everything.

“Sometimes you get past these obstacles, sometimes you don’t. For the first time in my career, I had to bring on a player [Giovane]. I’d never even seen him in training—a kid who just joined us Saturday. That tells you something about what we’re dealing with right now.

“But we’re not quitting. We know the situation, and we’ll keep pushing. It feels like we’re out at sea in a storm, but we’re not bailing. If someone wants to jump ship, fine—they can swim to shore. The rest of us are staying on board, ready to fight with everything we’ve got, whatever comes our way.”

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