Thiago Motta insists Juventus are ‘on the right track, but must improve in the final third’ after another 0-0 draw with Napoli, and confirmed Dusan Vlahovic was substituted as a tactical decision.
The Bianconeri were coming off a midweek 3-1 Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven, but their Serie A form has hit a brick wall.
The coach already raised eyebrows before kick-off by moving Pierre Kalulu to central defence after Federico Gatti’s ankle problem, leaving captain Danilo on the bench.
At half-time, he sensationally took striker Vlahovic off and introduced Tim Weah as a makeshift centre-forward, as the Serbian had just six touches.
“Vlahovic is fine, he has no physical problem. He had a good first half, tried to attack the space, although there wasn’t much of it today because Napoli clammed up and limited the spaces,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.
“It was a good performance, but clearly we got to the final third and that is where we need to improve. Weah was meant to alternate, which Tim did well in the second half, and also attack the penalty area. They each have their own characteristics and ways of helping the team.”
Thiago Motta must find Juventus breakthrough
This was their third consecutive 0-0 draw domestically after identical results against Roma and Empoli, meaning they have not conceded for 577 minutes of football and kept five clean sheets this term.
However, they also failed to score in their last three and this has to be a concern.
“When a team clams up in defence, it’s not easy for anyone to break them down. We are on the right track, we have the quality to do better with a change of tempo, shots from outside the box, there are many ways we can unlock them and we have the characteristics to do that,” continued Thiago Motta.
Juventus either score three goals – against Como, Verona and PSV Eindhoven – or zero.
“In order to win, we have to do something more. We’ve been up against teams with good players, we did well today, but clearly we cannot be happy with the result, because we always play to win. This remains the right path, we pinned Napoli back for long periods and need to do better in the final third.”
Weston McKennie had already been frozen out last summer and worked his way back in, now seems to be doing it again under Thiago Motta.
“He is a player who reads the spaces well, can get into the opposition penalty area, help out in attack and defence. We have strong players who together can show their potential to the benefit for the whole team.”