Juve, Spalletti: "We were too timid, Napoli were stronger. When Maradona sings, it's always a thrill..."

The Maradona defeat leaves Luciano Spalletti with more questions than certainties. The Juventus coach acknowledges his team's setback and does so frankly, emphasizing that Napoli deserved the victory. "Napoli were stronger than us today. I honestly can't say how different our level is from theirs, but it's clear we can do much better. We were too timid in possession, and in midfield we didn't create the superiority that could have changed the game for us. They, with their quality, left us running around empty," he told DAZN.

The match became difficult for Spalletti from the first 45 minutes, primarily due to the attitude of his forwards. "In the first half, we had little mobility up front. In the second half, we opted for man-to-man play, but Napoli knew how to use speed and technique to turn the game around every time we left them an opening. We were too academic, we took few risks, and we almost never tried to force anything," observed the Juventus coach, highlighting a lack of courage that ultimately affected the entire match.

The only glimmer of hope in a dark night was his return to the stadium where he left an indelible mark. "When the Napoli fans chant, it becomes a setting that only this stadium can offer," Spalletti confessed, briefly betraying a nostalgia for a recent past that, at least for one night, resonated powerfully.