Spalletti Calls for a Higher Gear After Florence Draw

Spalletti: We Must Raise Our Level After Florence Draw

Luciano Spalletti, Juventus's head coach, voiced disappointment after the 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, insisting the team must raise its level if it wants to keep its ambitions alive this season.

Juventus were held to a positive draw by Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi on Saturday, in the twelfth round of Serie A.

Juventus took the lead through Filip Kostič in stoppage time of the first half, while Rolando Mandragora equalised for the Viola in the 48th minute.

This is Juventus's third consecutive draw across competitions, a missed chance to close the gap at the top of the table.

Juventus sit seventh with 20 points.

After the game, Spalletti told Football Italia that the first half was expected and that they made many technical errors. He said these errors are not acceptable because our level must be higher, and that it was a tough match against a Fiorentina side that pressed energetically under Vincenzo Italiano; we know him well. We are chosen to deliver more, and we desperately need to raise our performance.

He added that, as I said before, our objective should be to compete for the Scudetto, which is different from saying we've already achieved it; we believe we can perform better than today.

He went on to note that the mood in the dressing room was tense, which he sees as a positive sign that players are not satisfied; now we must show a different level of football.

Spalletti admitted difficulties in involving Kenan Yildiz; he said we couldn't find him, we kept the ball around the defense and needed quick, vertical passes. Yildiz was more central at first, then moved to the left, but we must involve him more.

He closed by condemning the racist taunts toward Vlahović, saying Vlahović acts correctly, but socially we must stop going to matches to do things not related to sport. The more this happens, the more we spoil the world's most beautiful game.

Tension around Vlahović

There was heightened tension at the Franchi, with Vlahović returning to the Fiorentina fold; some Fiorentina fans subjected the Serbian international to racist chants. It echoed past visits when Vlahović, then a Fiorentina star, was targeted. The chants escalated after a VAR decision nullified a Juventus penalty.

Referee Doveri signalled for calm and invited Fiorentina captain Luca Ranieri to help stop the abuse; Ranieri walked to the stands and urged fans to stop the racist taunts, warning of consequences if they continued. In the first 45 minutes, the match was stopped twice because of racist chants against Vlahović.

Juventus's stance

Juventus had started the season strongly, beating Parma 2-0 at home, then scraping a 1-0 win at Genoa, and pulling off a dramatic 4-3 Derby d’Italia win over Inter. They then endured a run of draws—1-1 at Hellas Verona and at home to Atalanta—before a goalless draw with Milan, a costly loss at Como, and another setback against Lazio. The team’s form finally started to turn after the coach Tudor’s departure, with a 3-1 win over Udinese, a 2-1 victory against Cremonese, and a 1-1 Derby della Mole with Torino, followed by today’s draw with Fiorentina.

In Serie A, Juventus have played 12 matches, with five wins, five draws and two defeats, scoring 15 goals and conceding 11.