Spalletti expects strong Juventus reaction, belittles Champions League importance | OneFootball

Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti expects his men to make a statement in Sunday’s Derby della Mole against Torino.

Last weekend, the Bianconeri suffered a devastating defeat against Fiorentina in their final home fixture, which saw them tumble from sixth to third place in the league standings.

Therefore, the Serie A giants will require a little miracle to climb back to the Champions League spots.

Luciano Spalletti plans to move forward with or without the Champions League

Juventus need a couple of favours from the other fixtures on the final day of the season, but they must first do their part by beating their crosstown rivals.

Spalletti is thus awaiting a reaction from his players, who will take the pitch with wounded pride, not only because of last weekend’s result, but also due to the disappointing display.

“I expect a performance worthy of what happened this week, worthy of the importance of the match because it is a derby. I expect a strong reaction for an important game,” said the 67-year-old in his pre-match press conference via JuventusNews24.

“The regret is not for the matches where we failed to win but still played well. The regret is for not managing to be ourselves and not producing the amount of play that had distinguished us in this recent period.”

All fans and observers perceive the failure to qualify for the Champions League as a major sporting and financial blow for Juventus.

Nevertheless, Spalletti insists that his project at the club goes beyond it, arguing that Juve’s future won’t hinge on the outcome of the Top-Four race.

“Absolutely nothing changes because of one more point or one fewer point. We want to create the possibility to fight for something important regardless of the Champions League.

“We are disappointed with what we did, but we only have one chance to reach the target, and it will go through the possibility of winning tomorrow. We want to play a better match than the one against Fiorentina and bring home the result.”

Spalletti on sleepless nights & Elkann meeting

The Juventus boss explained how the team approached the final match of the season, admitting how his profession has given him many sleepless nights.

“We were not nervous, but calmly analysed the situation. We are disappointed, and then we decided on a strategy based on the effort made and decided to rest on Friday.

“Nervousness is a label that is being attached to us only because of one bad match. You take this disappointment home with you and, for me, a match won or lost affects a lot.

“I have spent sleepless nights when my team does not properly express the daily work I dedicate to it, because then I feel disappointed. This affects my life.”

Finally, Spalletti rubbished all talks regarding his resignation from Juventus, revealing that he and the club’s majority owner, John Elkann, already have an understanding.

“It never crossed my mind. First it was sign, sign, sign, and now it is resign, resign, resign. At most, what crosses your mind is making yourself available.

“I did not ask to speak with Elkann because everything is already planned, and we will have to meet. The path we must follow will remain unchanged one way or another, because one incident cannot change anything.”