Raffaele Palladino says Monza must be ‘proud’ despite a 2-1 loss against Juventus but feels Dani Mota shouldn’t have let Adrien Rabiot pass the ball to Federico Gatti.
Monza thought they had stretched their unbeaten run in Serie A against Juventus when Valentin Carboni scored a late equaliser against the Old Lady on Friday.
However, Federico Gatti restored Juventus’ lead two minutes later, scoring a winner that sent the Bianconeri back to the top of the Serie A table.
The first question to Palladino from DAZN was about what didn’t work in the dying minutes.
“I wouldn’t start from the final minutes but from a great performance from the team,” the Brianzoli coach argued.
“It’s a shame because we had proved great maturity against a great team. I am proud of my players, we must all be proud of what we did tonight. We left everything on the pitch. The team gave their all and I believe we deserved a draw.”
The 39-year-old had left Lorenzo Colombo and Dani Mota on the bench starting the game with no classic centre forward and Patrick Ciurria playing as a false nine.
“Choices are made depending on what I see during the week,” Palladino explained.
“We didn’t want to give points of reference to Juventus, they have physical defenders and Ciurria had done well in that role during the week. Our possession was a bit sterile in the first half because Juventus defended very well. Substitutions changed things in the second half, we changed the system by playing with four defenders and played an excellent game. We lost a defensive duel and Juventus punished us.
“We wanted to stretch Juventus’ defence. We know they can sit deep. I think we kept 70% possession in the second half but couldn’t get in. The team was patient and read some situations well. Juventus are structured and with physicality.”
Palladino was asked why his Monza side looked so vulnerable from set pieces, considering that Adrien Rabiot’s opener came from a corner kick.
“30% of goals come from set pieces, we score and concede,” he said.
“We are working on them, it is true that we have conceded a bit too many goals from these situations lately, but Juventus are more structured than us. When they scored the winner, Dani Mota changed position with Gagliardini, but it was too easy for Rabiot to dribble past him. The game was over. Keeping position could have been enough to avoid Juventus’ goal.”
DAZN showed a replay apparently proving the corner kick leading to Juventus’ opener should have not been conceded as Vlahovic was the last one to touch the ball before crossing the goal line.
“Pessina told me Vlahovic had touched the ball,” revealed Palladino.
“I am watching the replay now and it feels like the ball hadn’t gone out completely. It’s a shame because Juventus scored from that corner.”
Despite the disappointment, the Italian tactician continued praising his players’ attitude and said he expects to see more of the same in the last four Serie A games of 2023.
“When we face top teams, I see in the guys’ eyes that they want to play on par. Everyone has this mentality, and to play against the table leaders and leave the pitch with regrets means we must all be proud.
“[In the next games] I expect what they did tonight and what we’ve been doing since last season. Simply play with this mentality and commitment, with our principles, always being attacking-minded with a good defensive phase. We will face Genoa, Milan, Fiorentina and Napoli in December, but we’ll try to give our best against everyone.”
Will Juventus be title contenders until the end of the season?
“Absolutely, yes. Juventus are always built to win, it’s in their mentality. This season I can see a fit team, they defend well and are even more solid than last season. They have great players and they play once a week. Surely, they’ll be in the race until the end.”