Gatti disappointed despite astonishing goal: “These were three crucial points” | OneFootball

Juventus defender Federico Gatti laments his team’s 2-2 draw against Villarreal on the second matchday of the Champions League group stage.

The Bianconeri had already registered a draw on the opening day of the competition, when they rallied from behind to rescue a point against Borussia Dortmund in dramatic fashion.

This time, it was quite the contrary, with the Italians allowing the victory to slip through their hands due to a late goal from a familiar face.

Federico Gatti rues wasted opportunity to secure three points

While Renato Veiga deserves the credit for a well-taken header, Juve’s defending is coming under scrutiny once more, as they, once again, failed to contain the opposition from a set-piece situation.

For his part, Gatti was the one who sparked the Old Lady’s second-half comeback by scoring a jaw-dropping equaliser. The big defender pulled off a bicycle kick and put enough power behind it to beat the Villarreal goalkeeper, Arnau Tenas.

Federico Gatti (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

But while the 27-year-old was pleased with his effort, he was still far from satisfied with the final outcome.

“I saw my goal and it was too good. It was a bit instinctive, and it went well,” said Gatti in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via IlBianconero.

“But I’m really disappointed with the result, because those are two points that you pay for in the long run. We have to mature, because when we’re ahead in the result, it should be game over. I’m sorry.”

Gatti insists Juventus should have closed the match

The Juventus defender rued the two squandered points as he admitted that the team must become a bit more ‘nasty’ to secure the result.

“Nastiness? It’s something we need to work on. We need to all get together and talk about it because once you take the lead, games have to finish. You have to be a team of free-spirited players, as they say.

“It’s disappointing because the three points were crucial. But we need to put this game behind us immediately, and now on Sunday we have another crucial one (against Milan), so we need to recharge our batteries.

“We’re in a moment where we’ve been made to pay for every half-mistake. It’s disappointing because we’re throwing away a game we were in control of in the second half. I really felt we were in control.”

Juventus have now registered four draws in a row across all competitions, and only have two points in the Champions League group stage.