Luciano Spalletti spoke to DAZN (as quoted by Calciomercato) after Juventus fought back from two goals down to draw 2–2 with Lazio at the Allianz Stadium. Goals from Pedro and Isaksen gave the visitors a strong start, but second-half headers from Weston McKennie and Pierre Kalulu secured a spirited comeback for the Bianconeri.
“We Must Anticipate Danger Together”
Reflecting on the performance, Spalletti discussed Juventus’ tendency to concede goals from possession losses, focusing on the balance between his demands for controlled build-up play and risk management.
“The fact that Juventus concede many goals from lost balls? That’s also partly due to the demands I make on them, because I’ve always asked them to play every recovered ball, never to waste it. We need to play out under pressure, raising our level of play and quality. In doing this, we must be able to anticipate dangerous situations — and both things have to be done together. Sometimes we only manage one of them, and we pay a heavy price.”
Commenting on the first goal scored by Pedro, Spalletti defended his players while emphasising the importance of composure.
“Errors happen. Locatelli has been excellent — one of our best performers — but a mistake and a lost ball can always occur. What matters is our reaction. When the rhythm rises and there’s pressure to come back, we must not turn that into chaos. We only need to increase speed without losing clarity.”
Spalletti praised his team’s mindset after their comeback.
“Tonight we were strong and brilliant, though there were actions we could have finished better. Sometimes, when we raise the tempo, it spills into confusion. We must live under pressure — that’s when it becomes beautiful, when you have to overturn a 0–2 scoreline while everyone goes silent after their second goal. That’s the moment that shows whether you’re truly at the top level, if you can manage your emotions and difficulties. We’ve chosen to live this way — under pressure — and it must give us satisfaction. We played a great match, overturned a very hard result, and did many things well. We’ll keep moving forward and improving.”
“Cabal’s Was a Risky Challenge, but the Real Problem Is the Referees”
When asked about the possible penalty on Cabal, Spalletti’s response combined fairness with frustration over the state of refereeing in Italian football.
“Was it a penalty on Cabal? It’s one of those situations the referee can interpret however he wants, because the defender commits a reckless act when sliding in. Whatever he hits — it opens interpretation. I’m not here to say if it’s a penalty or not; I care relatively little about that. These things happen on both sides. He goes in on a player making his run — that’s an imprudent gesture.”
Spalletti then launched into a broader critique of officiating consistency.
“Everyone protests about the rules, even though the rules exist — but it’s always about interpretation. Step on foot, handball, a ball hitting you when your arms are open… every situation needs to be judged in its context. Not every handball is a penalty, not every step on foot is a penalty. We need a reform to sort out the refereeing class. They are the only people in the stadium who aren’t professionals. They should all be professionals, because their role is too important.”
Recalling a recent incident, he elaborated:
“In the last match against Atalanta, the VAR did the right thing — if you touch the ball with your hand, it’s a penalty. Palladino turned around and asked: ‘Why are they checking if it’s a penalty?’ because he didn’t realise it was from the previous phase in the other box.”
In typical Spalletti style, he added a colourful analogy when asked about the nature of Cabal’s contact:
“The contact? Can I give you a kiss? (he joked to DAZN’s Federica Zille) That’s a contact. If I give you a caress, that’s a contact too. We must understand what kind of contact it is — an impact, or something else. Is every handball a penalty? Every step on foot? Of course not. But if we use that same yardstick, then tonight’s was a penalty — Gila took a risk and did something that looked like a foul. The problem is that the only non-professional figure on the pitch is the referee. He needs to go home, reflect, and decide whether to keep doing this job. That’s what creates the imbalance — he’s the only one out there who isn’t a professional.”
