LUCIANO SPALLETTI BACKS VLAHOVIC, SLAMS JUVENTUS' PREDICTABLE PLAY AFTER DRAW
Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti demanded his team "raise our level" after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fiorentina. The coach criticised predictable play and technical errors, insisting on improvement.
Following Juventus' draw with Fiorentina, Luciano Spalletti openly expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that his team needs to "improve their game" to achieve their goals this season.
At the Franchi stadium, Juve were tied 1-1, which, although prolonging their undefeated streak, once more revealed ongoing problems with ball control and judgment.
Spalletti confessed that the game wasn't up to par with what he anticipates from a squad aiming to contend for the Serie A title.
Quoting IlBianconero, he stated, "Our plays were too easy to guess in the first half, and we committed far too many errors in our technique."
"We just cannot allow ourselves to make those mistakes, because we need to perform at a higher standard. It was a tough game against a team looking to bounce back. Vanoli brings passion and intensity to his team, which we know well. However, we are expected to accomplish more, and we absolutely have to step up our game."
Juventus coach Spalletti backs Vlahovic after Fiorentina draw
Spalletti maintained that his aspirations for Juventus are steadfast. "As I've mentioned before, striving for the Scudetto should be our aim, which is not the same as saying we are already contenders. I am confident that we can perform better than we did today. The quiet atmosphere in the locker room tells me that the players were also unsatisfied, and I appreciate that. Now, we must showcase a higher level of play."
He also observed that the squad had difficulty involving Kenan Yildiz in the game. "We didn't utilize him enough. Too often, we held onto the ball around the defense when we should have skipped a pass and played it forward. Yildiz initially stayed in the center before moving to the left, but we need to involve him more
Spalletti concluded by denouncing the abusive chants directed at Vlahovic: "Dusan is responding appropriately, but as a society, we must stop attending stadiums to engage in activities unrelated to sports. The more this occurs, the more we undermine the world's greatest sport."
BOLOGNA BEATS UDINESE, NOW SHARING LEAD WITH SERIE A ELITE
Bologna moved level with Inter and Roma at the Serie A summit with a 3-0 win at Udinese. Tommaso Pobega scored twice despite a rare penalty miss from top scorer Riccardo Orsolini.
Following their 3-0 victory over Udinese on Saturday, Bologna equalled the 24 points of Inter Milan and Roma at the top of Serie A, even though Riccardo Orsolini uncharacteristically missed a penalty.
The league's top scorer, Orsolini, made up for his penalty miss by assisting Tommaso Pobega's first of two goals.
Roma is scheduled to play Cremonese on Sunday, not long before Inter faces Milan in the city's highly anticipated derby match.
Milan is just two points behind the top three teams, equaling Napoli's score; Napoli played Atalanta later on Saturday.
After a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina, the bottom-ranked team, Juventus held 20 points.
Bologna found it hard to get past Udinese's defence but was presented with an excellent opportunity just before halftime when Kingsley Ehizibue, a defender for Udinese, used his elbow to block Pobega's shot.
Nevertheless, Maduka Okoye stopped Orsolini's penalty kick, despite Orsolini having converted 15 of his previous 16 attempts.
Orsolini believed he had atoned for his miss a few minutes later, but his potential goal was disallowed due to an offside.
Bologna broke the scoreless tie in the 54th minute. Orsolini controlled a pass across the field and cut inside before passing it to Pobega, who shot it into the bottom left corner.
Udinese's situation worsened six minutes later when Pobega intercepted a poor pass from Okoye and scored his second goal.
Udinese failed to learn from their mistake and got into another problematic situation while attempting to play the ball out from the back during stoppage time, enabling Federico Bernardeschi to easily score into an unguarded net.
Juventus was held to its third consecutive draw, having difficulties against Fiorentina and an energised Moise Kean.
Kean, 25, who began his professional career at Juventus, was returning from a leg injury; he was Fiorentina's most dangerous player in the first half, even hitting the crossbar.
With a strong 25-yard shot from Filip Kostic, Juventus took the lead in the sixth minute of added time.
The significant amount of added time resulted from a stoppage in play because of racist chants directed at Dusan Vlahovic, the former Fiorentina forward from Serbia; there was also an extensive video review that reversed a penalty initially given to Juventus.
Fiorentina evened the score almost immediately after halftime when two former Juventus players combined, with Kean assisting Rolando Mandragora, who scored with a long-range shot into the upper far corner.
Elsewhere, Genoa, led by Daniele De Rossi, drew 3-3 with Cagliari in a match between teams trying to avoid relegation. Genoa now has the same number of points as Parma, which is in 17th place, and is three points behind Cagliari.
PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN? MANAGER RESPONDS TO TALK OF £60M SCOTT MCTOMINAY DEAL
Everton boss David Moyes has dismissed rumours of a £60m move for Napoli's Scott McTominay, citing the price as too high. McTominay is also linked with a return to Manchester United, Barcelona, and Tottenham.