Luciano Spalletti was torn between praise and criticism of his Juventus players after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo. ‘We created so many chances, but often made the wrong decisions.’
The Bianconeri had been building momentum to recapture a Champions League spot, and were hosting a Sassuolo side decimated by injuries and a whooping cough outbreak in the squad.
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They had taken the lead through Kenan Yildiz, but when Andrea Pinamonti equalised, Manuel Locatelli saw the late opportunity to win it go to waste with Arijanet Muric’s penalty save.
This is the third consecutive penalty that Juventus have failed to convert in Serie A, after Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David also made mistakes.
Spalletti sees Juventus wasted chances
TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 21: Manuel Locatelli and Mattia Perin of Juventus embrace after the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Sassuolo Calcio at Allianz Stadium on March 21, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
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“When you play with four at the back, you have to spread the ball and surround them, so you create one-on-one situations. I kept telling them to find Yildiz and Conceicao, because Sassuolo were pinned back into their own penalty area,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.
“If you play through the middle and lose the ball, you struggle to get it back. If you lose it out wide, you can stop the counter and win it back quickly. Instead, we made decisions that in the long run we paid a price for, because too many times we didn’t make the right choices, there wasn’t enough maturity.
“We conceded the equaliser, created quite a few situations similar to the one that Sassuolo scored, we had at least 10 of those, but we weren’t reactive enough, didn’t make the smartest choices.”
There were some good choices for the goal, because Mattia Perin immediately launched Francisco Conceicao down the right after a Sassuolo corner, and then the Portuguese talent pulled it back for Yildiz.
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“Perin and Conceicao made the right decisions there, but Conceicao had another six of those situations in the first half alone where he chose the wrong option, or he had a bad shot, or he passed it to Kalulu who missed the finish past the far post. When you do not execute the chances you create, you pay for that eventually,” explained Spalletti.
“Considering the chances and the way we poured forward to the end, I think if we had won, then it would’ve been deserved.”
TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 21: Francisco Conceicao of Juventus is challenged by Aster Vranckx of US Sassuolo Calcio during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Sassuolo Calcio at Allianz Stadium on March 21, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
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The result means Juve are at the very best left in fifth place this weekend, and could fall further behind Como as well as potentially be caught by Roma.
“We are distraught with disappointment for the result, but smile anyway, because we create so many situations where we could’ve won it, but we have to accept the result. There were some good things in the second half, even if we moved the ball a bit too slowly,” noted the coach.
There was some good news for Juventus too, because in a late double substitution Spalletti gave Dusan Vlahovic his first appearance since the end of November 2025, and Arek Milik his first game since May 2024.
TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 21: Dusan Vlahovic and Pierre Kalulu of Juventus interact after the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Sassuolo Calcio at Allianz Stadium on March 21, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
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Finally, the former Italy coach was asked about the upcoming World Cup play-off against Northern Ireland, a qualifying campaign that he had started before being sacked two games in.
“I think we should have faith in this Nazionale. I believe Gattuso made the right decisions, so we have everything it takes to qualify for the World Cup.”
