Jérémie Boga is back among the scorers, and the conversation he had with Zhegrova before the match may have been decisive for his splendid goal. The Ivorian forward, whose impact on the match was described as devastating, scored the second in Juventus’s 2-0 victory over Napoli, the result that eased the pressure on Spalletti after a week of crisis. Alajbegović scored the other goal. Afterwards Boga spoke to DAZN and in the press room, and his account gives a rare look inside the dressing room.
“A Match Played With the Heart”
Boga began with an honest acknowledgement of where the club has been. “When you play for Juventus and results do not come, everybody is in doubt. That is normal. We have to work hard, show that we have the qualities and that we play with heart, all together, like today. Today we fought. We can still improve with the ball, but in terms of heart we played a good match.”
On the goal itself he was equally frank. “It is my first goal this year, and it is very important. I need to find physical consistency, but this goal gives me a lot of confidence. I am happy for the team and for these three points.”
“Sometimes I Think Too Much. This Time I Told Myself to Shoot Early”
The goal was a long-range strike, and Boga explained the thought process behind it. “When I received the ball, my aim was to go straight to the shot. I just had to find the space and not think too much. Sometimes my problem is thinking too much, doing one more dribble or one more pass. This time I told myself I had to shoot early, since there was space.”
The theme matches the match’s wider story. Tuttosport’s gallery headline says Juventus woke up and shot from distance, with two long-range goals that “save Spalletti.”
The Retreat: “It Helped Us, Certainly”
Asked whether the pre-match retreat at the Continassa had served its purpose, Boga was unequivocal. “Did it help us? Yes, certainly. We talked a lot about what we want to show our supporters. The important thing is to fight, give everything, give the heart: we are a big club like Juventus. A moment of difficulty can happen, and it is up to us to lift our heads and fight together as we did today.”
In the press room he returned to the point. “The retreat was very important. We learned a lot by being together. Today we put in the heart as we had told each other before the match.”
On his own season, which has been disrupted by injury, he added: “I was out, then came back, and it was hard to find my condition. Today I am happier for the victory than for the goal. We must always put in the heart as we did today.”
The Zhegrova Agreement and Alajbegović’s Goal
The most revealing detail concerns how the two goals came about. Boga said that before the match he and Zhegrova agreed on a specific plan. “Before the match, Zhegrova and I talked, and we said we should shoot more. We had that in our heads.”
He then connected that to Alajbegović, who scored Juventus’s first. “Alajbegović is a very strong player. He has this shot, and he must use it more, with the conviction he showed today.”
For the Bosnian teenager, who had been substituted at half-time in three of his previous starts and was heavily criticised after Genoa, the goal and the endorsement of his teammates are significant. Tuttosport flags a separate piece on his substitution after the goal, headlined as one that “worries,” which suggests the story is not entirely settled.
