Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti reserved special praise for his star player Kenan Yildiz following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Pisa.
The Bianconeri struggled against their Tuscan hosts, who came extremely close to scoring on a couple of occasions. But in the end, the visitors took control of the action, and their pressure paid off with Pierre Kalulu scoring a scrappy goal in the 73rd minute.
The Turin-based giants then went on to secure the result, with Yildiz scoring an easy tap-in following a combination from Jonathan David and Fabio Miretti.
After the contest, Spalletti admitted that Juventus encountered difficulties in the first half, but luckily, the real Yildiz showed up in the second period.
“Games are always changed by the players, through their behaviour,” insisted the manager in his post-match interview with DAZN via JuventusNews24.
“In the first half, we lacked Yildiz’s quality. Openda is a player who attacks depth and space, and with the midfielders we had, we couldn’t find quality in the final third, so it becomes difficult to create anything, especially when you’re missing a bit of a classic number ten.
“And Yildiz is our number 10. Like it or not, he has to take on that responsibility. I care about him like a son, because I know he’s the one who can change things for us, who can turn a match at any moment.”
Luciano Spalletti (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Spalletti explained how his special rapport with Yildiz allows him to say things to his face while hoping to invoke a reaction.
“You try to say things to him—sometimes in the right way, sometimes you try different approaches—but no one will ever make me doubt his huge availability, his personality, or his understanding of the important role he has.
“We’re on the same wavelength: I can tell him things, and he has to pay attention to what I say, because, as I said before, I care about him.”
The Juventus boss also praised his substitutes who made a crucial impact off the bench, especially Edon Zhegrova, who he describes as a genius.
“Zhegrova had the flu: three days with a high fever, and he only trained a little Friday morning, so I even had doubts about whether he could cope with those 35 minutes,” explained the 66-year-old in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via JuventusNews24.
“But we had to put him on because we weren’t finding any solutions in the final third, and he’s a real genius in the decision-making and in beating his man.”
“I actually thought he might give us even less, given the flu he’d had—also because physically you feel it afterwards. Instead, he came on well and gave us quality.
“Khéphren also grew into the game in the second half. I really liked Miretti when he came on. So let’s say it’s another win that gives us a bit of enthusiasm and belief in what our possibilities are.”
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