Marco Giampaolo insists Torino lost to Juventus because of ‘details’, but thinks he might’ve discovered why they fumbled 19 points from leading situations.
It was his first game back on the touchline since he was diagnosed with COVID-19 three weeks ago and had an eventful evening, as Toro took the early lead through Nicolas Nkoulou and ran practically no risks at the back.
Marco Giampaolo insists Torino lost to Juventus because of ‘details’, but thinks he might’ve discovered why they fumbled 19 points from leading situations.
It was his first game back on the touchline since he was diagnosed with COVID-19 three weeks ago and had an eventful evening, as Toro took the early lead through Nicolas Nkoulou and ran practically no risks at the back.
However, as we’ve seen so often this season, the Granata crumbled in the final minutes and ended up losing 2-1.
The two Juve goals were practically identical, two floated Juan Cuadrado crosses for Weston McKennie and Leonardo Bonucci free headers.
“We’ve already talked about this, we will continue to talk about it and it can get us nowhere. I focus only on this match,” Giampaolo told Sky Sport Italia.
“We lost this game due to details. Considering our current form, we played the way we had to play, and there were details that made the difference, both in attack and defence. Evidently, we still have more work to do.
“It’s about how we track back, how we defend, how we cover the spaces, where our positioning is. We had done it all so well, but a few errors and we get punished.”
Simone Zaza seemed to get into a row with the coach on the touchline when he was substituted.
“He didn’t want to come off and that is part of the adrenaline of the game. I get angry in the moment, but it passes quickly,” smiled Giampaolo.
Incredibly, Toro have fumbled 19 points from leading situations this season in just 10 Serie A rounds.
“The mistakes we made were after winning back the ball. If we give it straight back again and don’t pass it with quality, that means you are constantly under pressure and chasing the ball. It takes up a lot of energy and that may well be why we run out of steam towards the end.
“We have to pass our way out from the opposition press and that’s not something we do well enough. This is a very vertical team and I have to go with the characteristics of my players.”
Torino moved to a 3-5-2 formation over the last few matches, something Giampaolo rarely approached in his career.
“With a three or five-man defence, the positioning changes. There were some specific things we didn’t do and the lads are at times acting as if it’s still four at the back, but we need to adjust.
“We allowed three or four shots throughout the game, it’s not as if we had general difficulty, but throughout the season we have conceded a remarkable number of goals for very few attempts. Basically, if there are four shots, we concede two goals.”