Luciano Spalletti believes Jonathan David ‘sensed’ the Juventus squad defending him after the ‘insults’ over his missed penalty, however the coach continues to be not happy
The coach had been adamant in his defence of David after the criticism that rained down over his failed Panenka penalty within the 1-1 draw with Lecce.
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That paid off, because the Canadian began once more this night and eventually broke his 16-round Serie A drought with a purpose and an help for Fabio Miretti, after Tarik Muharemovic had deflected Pierre Kalulu’s cross in through the first half.
Notably, your entire squad ran over to rejoice with David, together with Spalletti and everybody who was on the bench, regardless of the rumours he hadn’t bonded along with his teammates.
Spalletti and Juventus stood with David
SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, celebrates his crew’s third purpose, scored by Jonathan David through the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photograph by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Photographs)
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“Everybody had taken a agency stance, as a result of it’s completely different when you find yourself inside a scenario, so if you obtain all these insults and feedback, I might’ve been stunned if the crew hadn’t acted as a protect to guard him,”
“He sensed that in the previous couple of days, and put in a fantastic efficiency tonight. Seeing as he scored a purpose too, that simply confirmed what number of pals he has within the locker room.”
had famous that Spalletti and his employees had been discussing substituting David only some minutes earlier than he made that robust impression with an help and purpose within the house of 90 seconds.
It was a dominant general efficiency from the Bianconeri, who saved Sassuolo pinned again into their very own half.
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“The crew labored effectively when Sassuolo tried to construct out from the again, we prevented them ever having superiority in midfield, although after all this implies working some dangers when defending. We’ve some very robust defenders and may afford that, however what made the distinction was dominating the sport, so when Sassuolo did assault, they had been drained and had been chasing us round, so weren’t that efficient.
“At instances we performed with no centre-forward, as David would drop additional again and create the house for Miretti to run into, so that they did that very effectively.”
SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, seems on through the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photograph by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Photographs)
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This outcome means Juventus are nonetheless in joint fourth place with Roma, though Como are solely three factors behind and have a sport in hand, so the combat for a Champions League spot stays very tight certainly.
“The final two performances have been nice, however we nonetheless want to know sure issues, and do it as rapidly as potential, as a result of there are occasions when our angle isn’t any higher than the naked minimal,” insisted Spalletti.
“We are inclined to solely present 80 per cent of our capabilities and no extra, we don’t go decided sufficient into the challenges, we had three or 4 corners the place we didn’t even handle to get it into the field. When you find yourself away from house, you possibly can’t be so wasteful, as now we have gamers who’re so good within the air and aren’t getting the service on set performs.”
SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, seems on previous to the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photograph by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Photographs)
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Spalletti had joked final month when requested why David had not been invited to a crew dinner that it was as a result of the Canadian wished Parmigiano cheese on his pasta with clams. So have they modified their minds?
“Ah we all the time have it now, we loved his intuitive delicacies in creating new dishes,” laughed the coach.