Locatelli explains what changed at Juventus with Tudor, reveals reason behind late struggles vs Lecce | OneFootball

Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli sheds some light on the changes implemented by Igor Tudor following his arrival at the club.

Following a series of woeful results, the management decided to sack Thiago Motta during last month’s international break and bring in Tudor as an interim manager until the end of the season.

While the Bianconeri haven’t entirely recovered, they’re at least showing some promising signs under the 46-year-old tactician.

The Croatian won his debut against Genoa by a solitary goal, before earning a 1-1 draw against the in-form Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. On Saturday, the Old Lady returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Lecce.

According to Locatelli, Tudor’s arrival pumped energy into the team, as they’re now approaching the matches with a different attitude.

“The energy has changed, we approach games with a lot of positive energy and that is what we need to keep doing. We had the chance to kill the game off earlier and conceded an avoidable goal, but we’re on the right track,” said the Juventus skipper in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia.

(Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Teun Koopmeiners and Kenan Yildiz gave the Old Lady a healthy two-goal lead in the first half, but the performance dropped after the break. Lecce pulled one back late in the contest and pushed for an equaliser.

Locatelli attributes this late slump to the players’ physical condition.

“I saw it as more of a physical issue than anything else, as towards the end we lost sharpness and made avoidable mistakes. However, we brought home three fundamental points for us.”

Finally, the 27-year-old insisted that securing Champions League football remains their main goal for the season.

“That is our objective, we must do everything to achieve it and win every game we have remaining.”