Spalletti laments Juventus´ ´predictable´ display in Fiorentina draw

Luciano Spalletti urged Juventus to raise their level in order to achieve their Serie A ambitions after a “predictable” display in their 1-1 draw with Fiorentina.

Spalletti watched on as a lacklustre league encounter at Stadio Artemio Franchi was punctuated by two moments of individual brilliance from Filip Kostic and Rolando Mandragora.

Juventus went into the break a goal to the good when Manuel Locatelli’s blocked shot fell to Kostic, who took aim and rifled the ball from 25 yards into the bottom-left corner.

But Fiorentina drew level three minutes after the restart when Mandragora sent a rasping drive beyond Michele Di Gregorio, with neither side able to find a winner.

The result saw Juventus lose more ground to those at the Serie A summit, with the Bianconeri now sixth in the table and five points adrift of leaders Napoli.

Juventus created an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.4 from their 17 shots, though only four were on target, leaving Spalletti wanting more from his players moving forward.

“We were too predictable in the first half and made too many technical mistakes,” Spalletti said as quoted by IlBianconero.

“Those are errors we simply can’t afford because our level has to be higher. It was a difficult match against a side eager to react.

“Vanoli gives energy and aggression to his players. We know him well. But we’ve been chosen to do more, and we absolutely need to raise the level.”

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Spalletti has endured an underwhelming start in Turin since replacing Igor Tudor at the helm, winning just once in his first four games in charge across all competitions.

Indeed, he is only the second manager to draw three of his first four games with Juventus in all competitions (since 1929-30), after Sandro Puppo in 1995.

But the 66-year-old, who won the Scudetto with Napoli in 2022-23, remains optimistic that he can lead Juventus to their 37th Serie A crown this season.

Juventus are handed just a 1.9% chance of finishing top of the table, with Bologna (4.5%), AC Milan (9.9%), Roma (13.2%), Napoli (13.6%) and Inter (56.1%) all above them according to the Opta supercomputer.

“As I’ve said, we must have the Scudetto fight as our ambition. That’s different from saying we’re already there,” Spalletti added.

“I believe we can give more than what we showed today. The silence in the dressing room tells me the players weren’t happy either, and I like that.

“Now we need to show a different level of football.”