Spalletti defends David after Lecce draw: ‘He’s a penalty taker and he takes them well’ | OneFootball

Luciano Spalletti insisted Juventus produced a strong overall performance despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Lecce, while firmly backing his players after the late penalty miss.

Speaking to DAZN, the Juventus coach admitted the decisive issue came inside the penalty area, where his side failed to make their dominance count.

“We need to improve our choices in the box,” Spalletti said. “We put the ball into dangerous areas many times, both in the first and second half, but we never found the right touch to redirect it. That’s where we have to grow.”

TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 03: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, reacts during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Lecce at on January 03, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Despite the frustration of dropping points, Spalletti was keen to highlight progress. “We played a good match, a very good match,” he added. “The result always makes the difference, of course, but there were clear steps forward in our performance.”

Spalletti defends David after Juventus penalty miss

The post-match discussion quickly turned to the missed penalty, but Spalletti rejected the idea of singling out individuals. He dismissed any controversy over who should have taken it, making his position clear. “David is a penalty taker and he takes them very well,” he said. “He made the right choice, going down the middle, he just didn’t lift it enough.”

Spalletti also noted that others in the squad are capable from the spot. “Locatelli is a penalty taker. Yildiz is a penalty taker,” he explained. “These decisions are made in the moment, in the emotion of the game. It doesn’t work the way you think from the outside.”

TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 03: Jonathan David of Juventus misses a penalty attempt during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Lecce at on January 03, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

While acknowledging the disappointment, Spalletti stressed that Juventus must now move on quickly. “This match is gone, we didn’t win it, we drew it,” he said. “But if we keep playing like this, we’ll win plenty of games. Now we have to make sure we take the next ones.”

Juventus will look to turn performance into points as they prepare for the next test in a demanding run of fixtures.