Maurizio Sarri admits he’s ready to play the Juventus Under-23 squad against Roma following a 2-0 defeat to Cagliari. ‘We’re playing five times in 12 days.’
The Bianconeri had already secured the Serie A title and rotated the squad for this trip to Sardinia, but were still hoping for better than a 2-0 defeat, decided by 20-year-old Luca Gagliano and Giovanni Simeone.
Maurizio Sarri admits he’s ready to play the Juventus Under-23 squad against Roma following a 2-0 defeat to Cagliari. ‘We’re playing five times in 12 days.’
The Bianconeri had already secured the Serie A title and rotated the squad for this trip to Sardinia, but were still hoping for better than a 2-0 defeat, decided by 20-year-old Luca Gagliano and Giovanni Simeone.
“The problem is that that we are the only team in Europe who will have to play five times in 12 days,” Sarri told DAZN.
“We’ll see how we are tomorrow and whether we ought to field the Under-23 team in its entirety at the weekend, so that everyone can get a bit of rest.”
The attention inevitably moves towards the Champions League Round of 16 clash with Lyon on August 7, especially as their final Serie A opponents Roma have already secured fifth place.
“In terms of motivation and determination, this was an atypical match and cannot be considered the same way as the rest of the season. Our passing is good, but the pace at which the ball circulates is the issue. Passing it slowly, and I mean the ball rather than legs, just makes things easy for the opposition.
“We had nine players left at home with injuries today, so obviously I’ve got some doubts ahead of Lyon. We’ll have to see who recovers.”
Sarri largely rotated the squad this evening, but still used Cristiano Ronaldo for 90 minutes, as he wanted to close on Capocannoniere Ciro Immobile.
“Speaking to him yesterday, he was very motivated, wanted to play, was really enthusiastic and felt good. We made the decision together, he knows his body better than anyone.
“Ronaldo is instinctive and doesn’t fit entirely into certain tactical roles, which is also his strength, but it means the other striker has to adapt to Cristiano’s movements. We did it well at times this evening too, but didn’t finish the moves.”