Luciano Spalletti admitted that Juventus “suffered a lot” during the first half against Atalanta. However, he described the second half as a “totally different match” after they secured a victory that keeps their top-four ambitions alive.
The game in Bergamo presented a challenging night for Juventus. For extended periods in the first half, Atalanta pinned them back in their own half, but failed to capitalize on their pressure. Instead, Juventus proved clinical after the break, capitalizing on a series of errors to score through Jeremie Boga shortly after the restart, with the help of a deflection off Marco Carnesecchi.
Spalletti acknowledged that Juventus were not at their best initially. “The first half-hour we suffered a lot, because Atalanta are a good team, and we were unable to string passes together in any situation, as they were constantly pressing us,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia. “We were forced to only defend. In the second half, it was a totally different match, we played on level terms. Usually, we were the ones who didn’t make the dominance count and were penalised by failing to score when we were on top, but this time we did it the other way round.”
He referenced the previous encounter in Bergamo back in February, a Coppa Italia quarter-final where Juventus had a strong start but ultimately lost 3-0. This latest result moves Juventus to within three points of third-placed Milan and temporarily places them in fourth, awaiting the outcome of the match between Cesc Fabregas’s men and Inter.
“These are games that are worth more than three points. Unfortunately, we weren’t in the best shape coming into the match, because Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao both had fitness problems, I chose to start them and see how they’d do. They were both a little below par, Thuram had an issue too,” Spalletti revealed. “We were also making mistakes in the first half, not giving Conceicao the opportunity to take men on down the flank, which is his strength. Once we adjusted a few things and got the hang of it, the second half was a completely different match.”
Spalletti elaborated on the defensive struggles. “We paid too heavy a price in the Coppa Italia game for our performance. Tonight, they moved it from side to side, stretching us out and forcing us back, with us failing to keep our shape. It is a weakness that we have, our defence can sometimes sit a bit too deep and gets pinned back, especially by a team with Atalanta’s characteristics.”
He also commented on the challenges of playing against Atalanta’s man-marking system. “In modern football, you do tend to go man for man, but when you make that choice, if one marking goes wrong, it all falls apart. Possession used to be the statistic everyone cared about, now nobody is interested in that, it’s about how you break out of these little individual cages that your players are put into.”
Spalletti concluded by reflecting on the game’s tempo and his satisfaction with the team’s effort. “Atalanta were far more tuned into the tempo of the game early on, more precise in their movements from right to left, and we didn’t find passing channels. In the second half, we won the ball back a few times and could’ve done more damage on the counter-attack, but misplaced the vertical pass. Considering the players who were struggling tonight, I am pleased they put the effort in and tried to work for the team.”
