Former Juventus midfielder blasts Spalletti’s attack: “It looks like a joke to me” | OneFootball

Massimo Mauro didn’t mince his words when discussing the quality of the attacking department at Juventus in the aftermath of Sunday’s draw against Lazio.

The Bianconeri dominated possession in front of their home supporters and had a flurry of chances, but they still found themselves trailing by two goals shortly after the restart, as they were wasteful in front of goal.

On the other hand, the Biancocelesti pounced on a mistake from Manuel Locatelli to break the deadlock through Pedro, while a swift counterattack culminated with a second goal marked by Gustav Isaksen.

Mauro insists playing good football isn’t sufficient at Juventus

Juventus were eventually able to rescue a point thanks to Weston McKennie, who halved the deficit in the 59th minute, and Pierre Kalulu, who nodded the ball home from close range in the dying embers of the contest.

After the contest, Luciano Spalletti applauded his players for taking the right approach and having the character to mount a comeback.

However, Mauro warns the manager against falling into this cycle, as producing entertaining displays is never good enough at Juventus.

“In my opinion, it risks becoming idealistic, because if you play well and don’t win, I don’t think there’s a single fan who’s happy,” said the 63-year-old during his appearance on Pressing via IlBianconero.

“The style of play has to lead to winning; if you risk losing matches like this, maybe you need to play with more humility.”

Massimo Mauro slams Juventus attack

Mauro also felt that Michele Di Gregorio didn’t do enough on the second Lazio goal, and insists that Gleison Bremer alone is not enough.

“If Bremer isn’t in great form, he can’t cover up his teammates’ mistakes. Above all, the goalkeeper (Di Gregorio) made a serious error on the second goal. Juve conceded two goals, and Lazio could have scored two more.”

Finally, the retired-footballer-turned-politician reserved some harsh words for the club’s strikers, labelling the whole department as a ‘joke’.

“There’s also the centre-forward issue: the attack looks like a joke to me. There’s the American (McKennie)… Openda had two chances and didn’t look like a striker.

“I don’t feel like saying the players are poor. Juve are a team, and they have an identity, but I wouldn’t want to load Spalletti with too much responsibility.”

Spalletti urged the management to bring in a new striker in January, but Damien Comolli and Marco Ottolini fell short in this regard.

Therefore, Jonathan David remains the main option upfront while awaiting Dusan Vlahovic’s return from injury.