Spalletti urges Juventus to improve decision-making in final third

Luciano Spalletti wants Juventus to improve their choices in the final third after they were frustrated in a 1-1 draw with Lecce.

Lameck Banda opened the scoring before the break for the visitors, and though Weston McKennie equalised early in the second half, Juventus could not find a winner.

Jonathan David, who had a header tipped onto the post early on, had the chance to clinch all three points with his 66th-minute penalty, but was denied by Wladimiro Falcone.

It marked the first time since May 2024 that Juventus have failed to win a Serie A match after having at least 25 shots.

Although Spalletti maintains his confidence in David from the spot, he highlighted the need to see a big improvement in front of goal from his team.

“We need to improve our choices in the box,” Spalletti said.

“We put the ball into dangerous areas many times, both in the first and second half, but we never found the right touch to redirect it. That’s where we have to grow.

“We played a good match, a very good match. The result always makes the difference, of course, but there were clear steps forward in our performance.

“David is a penalty taker, and he takes them very well. He made the right choice, going down the middle; he just didn’t lift it enough.”

Since the beginning of last season, Juventus have tallied up more draws than any other side in Serie A (22).

They finished the match with 2.8 expected goals (xG) from their 25 shots, though only five of those hit the target.

Spalletti’s side also struck the woodwork twice, and had six big chances, while Lecce only hit the target with one of their six attempts.

“This match is gone, we didn’t win it, we drew it,” he added.

“But if we keep playing like this, we’ll win plenty of games. Now we have to make sure we take the next ones.”