Tudor: ‘I apologised to Juventus substitutes, Kalulu is a good guy’ | OneFootball

Igor Tudor reveals why he ‘apologised’ to two Juventus players after the dramatic 1-1 draw with Lazio and accepts the Pierre Kalulu red card. ‘It was an odd choice I admit, but I would do it again.’

This was a potentially decisive crossroads in the fight for fourth place, as these two teams were locked together on 63 points going into the weekend, along with Claudio Ranieri’s Roma.

The Bianconeri had taken the lead with a Randal Kolo Muani header, only for Pierre Kalulu to see red nine minutes later for a pointless lashing out at Taty Castellanos that was spotted by VAR.

His team held on down to 10 men for over 30 minutes, surviving a penalty scare that was disallowed due to offside, but at the 96th minute Matias Vecino turned in the equaliser for Lazio.

Tudor left with Juventus regrets

ROME, ITALY – MAY 10: Igor Tudor, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on May 10, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“It was a great game, I am sorry that we dropped two points right at the end, but we keep going. There are two matches to play, the lads gave their all in the circumstances with players missing, so I congratulated them in the dressing room and we go forward with confidence,” Tudor told DAZN.

Juventus face Udinese next week, but they will have Khephren Thuram, Nicoló Savona and Kalulu all suspended.

At least Kenan Yildiz will return from his two-match ban, which was also for violent conduct when Juve were leading the game, an entirely unnecessary gesture.

“It’s disappointing, as it’s two games now we have been reduced to 10 men for long periods, which at this stage of the season is incredible. I don’t know how much contact he actually made, but it was a naïve thing to do. You shouldn’t do that, Kalulu is a good guy, we accept this red card.

“He was disappointed, but surprised too, he’s a good guy who cares so much. We’ll see what happens, we hope it’ll be just a one-match ban.”

Tudor explains odd decision

ROME, ITALY – MAY 10: Alberto Costa of Juventus is challenged during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on May 10, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Tudor raised some eyebrows during the closing stages, as he took off substitutes Francisco Conceicao and Vasilije Adzic to bring on Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Gatti.

It was particularly odd because Adzic had only been on the field for nine minutes, having just replaced Kolo Muani.

“Gatti was coming off a fracture, he never trained with the rest of the team, he was still limping and we brought him along thinking if we really needed it, he could play five minutes.

“I took off the two lads who came on, I immediately apologised to them in the dressing room. It rarely happens and I didn’t like doing it, but I had to because we needed experience and height in those final minutes to help the team. It was an odd choice I admit, but I would do it again.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Lazio 1-1 Juventus

ROME, ITALY – MAY 10: Pierre Kalulu of Juventus leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on May 10, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Tudor took off Nico Gonzalez for Francisco Conceicao at half-time and seemed frustrated with the Argentina international towards the break.

“I saw him a little tired, he was struggling, whereas Francisco had his best performance since I’ve been here. He fought hard and moved around, I liked his performance.”

Juventus were already decimated by injuries when Tudor took over from Thiago Motta, so if the full squad was at his disposal, what level would this team be at?

“It’s a good question. These are moments that change a lot in a season. I couldn’t comment, having come towards the end without knowing how the fitness training was done. It is a squad with quality, I think with two or three new players it could be a team of a very high level, but it’s already high now,” concluded the coach.

Because Juventus won 1-0 in Turin back in October, they still have the advantage over Lazio in the head-to-head record.

However, if Roma beat Atalanta on Monday, then the Giallorossi will leapfrog the pair of them into fourth place, while Fiorentina and even Milan can also close up now.