Maurizio Sarri reveals how Juventus ‘changed the game’ with a different second half attitude against Atalanta, ‘one of the form teams in Europe now.’
The Bianconeri were out-played for the entire first half and went behind twice in Turin, but clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw thanks to two Cristiano Ronaldo penalties.
The result allows them to go nine points clear at the top of the table, as Lazio lost 2-1 to Sassuolo earlier today.
Maurizio Sarri reveals how Juventus ‘changed the game’ with a different second half attitude against Atalanta, ‘one of the form teams in Europe now.’
The Bianconeri were out-played for the entire first half and went behind twice in Turin, but clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw thanks to two Cristiano Ronaldo penalties.
The result allows them to go nine points clear at the top of the table, as Lazio lost 2-1 to Sassuolo earlier today.
“We were up against one of the form teams in Europe right now,” Sarri told DAZN.
“They are aggressive, so organised, and at the start we made the mistake of wanting the ball passed to feet, but they pounce on these situations and it’s how we conceded the goals, by losing the ball.
“Playing against Atalanta is very difficult. They seemed much sharper than us in the first half too, but we managed to get back into it and fortunately the second half was much better.
“We had conceded the second goal when we were taking control. We were more energetic, but compared to the first half, we defended much higher and weren’t so passive. It allowed us to win back the ball more often in midfield and that’s what changed the game.”
This was a boost after Juventus threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 at Milan midweek.
“Facing Atalanta right now is difficult for everyone, not us. They were coming off nine consecutive victories. It wasn’t a physical problem at Milan, because the team basically fainted. You can’t lose energy in 30 seconds.
“We weren’t as sharp tonight compared to San Siro, but the team held out better over the 90 minutes and was more consistent.”
Miralem Pjanic was left on the bench this evening, while Paulo Dybala was substituted by Gonzalo Higuain in the second half.
“This was a tough game for our forwards, less so for Cristiano, more for Dybala, as he likes to go deeper to get the ball and it’s very dangerous against Atalanta. In fact, we introduced Gonzalo Higuain, as he could help open the spaces up more,” added Sarri.
“Pjanic had an adductor issue, was not in great shape, so I preferred not to risk a muscular injury when playing every three days and we made different choices.”