Juventus lost 2-0 to Genoa, with Kingsley Ehizibue and Tommaso Baldanzi scoring the goals. After the match, Luciano Spalletti criticised Juventus and said the team had to apologise to the fans for the performance.
Apology to the fans
Spalletti told DAZN Italia: "We have to apologise to the fans for this performance, first and foremost."
Concerns over duels
Spalletti said: "It’s difficult to accept the level of running and intensity of challenges, because we lost duels in attack, in defence, we lost them all over the place. Sooner or later, we need to figure out what’s going on and raise the physical level, the willingness to battle for the ball."
He also said: "Admittedly, there wasn’t enough, there was no fight, and that is a situation we’ve dealt with since the start of the season. Now we have to acknowledge it and add something more in terms of battle and physical confrontation."
What worries Spalletti
When asked what worried him most after nine rounds of the Serie A season and mixed results in the Europa League, Spalletti said: "What worries me is that I am struggling to let the players understand football has changed. Before anything else, you need to win these duels, deal with being harassed all over the pitch, because that’s what football is now."
Spalletti also said Juventus had very few alternatives and that fatigue was piling up.
Next match
Juventus face Napoli on Sunday, with the teams tied on 14 points.
