Spalletti: ‘Juventus system brings solidity, but we went backwards in the second half’

Spalletti: ‘Juventus system brings solidity, but we went backwards in the second half’ Luciano Spalletti believes that Juventus have found a system that brings them solidity, but says that his players ‘went backwards’ in the second half of their 2-0 victory away against Lecce in Serie A on Sunday evening. The Bianconeri claimed a 2-0 win at the Via Del Mare thanks to first-half goals from Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz, the latter claiming his first competitive goal for the club. Though the result was the most important thing after a 3-0 defeat against Lazio last weekend, there were some concerns about Juve’s second-half performance, allowing their hosts far more of the ball and much more chances compared to the first 45. You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog. Spalletti speaks after Lecce 0-2 Juventus ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Head coach of Juventus FC Luciano Spalletti looks on ahead the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus at Stadio Via del Mare on October 25, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images) Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after full-time, Spalletti said that he was pleased with what he saw in the first 45 minutes, but not with what he saw after the interval. “The players played a very good game in terms of pace and playing openly. We dropped off a bit in terms of our management in the second half and then everything became more difficult because we had less courage. We needed to do the same things as we did in the first half,” Spalletti noted (via TMW ). The Juventus head coach was pleased with what he saw from midfielder Douglas Luiz, though. ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Douglas Luiz of Juventus FC celebrates with his teammate Pierre Kalulu after scoring his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus at Stadio Via del Mare on October 25, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images) “He had a great game today, he fought and ran, he battled on all sides and he helped clean up certain situations when we needed him to.” Spalletti was asked if he decided to change the Juventus system after his in-depth talks with the squad in the aftermath of their 3-0 defeat against Lecce last weekend. The Bianconeri have been lining up with Randal Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade up front together with a three-man midfield behind them for the last two matches. “We spoke about what we needed most,” said Spalletti. “We changed something on a tactical level by playing with three midfielders, because in these sorts of moments you need more solidity and clarity and we did the most logical thing. “But then you have to put the players into positions where they do well, and it means excluding wide players who have previously done well for us. ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Weston Mckennie of Juventus FC celebrates after scoring his team’s opening goal during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus at Stadio Via del Mare on October 25, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images) “We found this system, which brings solidity, and we’re happy with that because we immediately saw a better team performance. The second half, however, we seemed to go backwards.” Lecce also decided to switch systems midway through their match against Juventus, which appeared to bring them more success in the second half despite their lack of goals. “They came out in a 4-3-3 and in the second half they played three at the back and went man for man. We stayed put, we didn’t press with any force and we no longer built from the back. The goalkeeper had a lot more passes to make in the second half. “We had a two-goal lead, but that wasn’t enough to lose our measure. We didn’t concede, but we weren’t very proactive in trying to close the game.”