Motta displeased with Juventus attitude on late equalizer, suggests new role for Yildiz | OneFootball

Juventus coach Thiago Motta was in an unpleasant mood after watching his men concede a late equalizer at the Via del Mare.

The Bianconeri were the better side in the first half and were incredibly close to breaking the deadlock through Khephren Thuram who missed a sitter and Francisco Conceicao who hit the post.

In the end, the Old Lady found the breakthrough through a deflected shot from Andrea Cambiaso, but the latter’s ill-advising late venture saw him lose possession in the dying ambers of the match, which culminated in Ante Rebic’s equalizer.

Needless to say, Motta wasn’t impressed with the team’s attitude (Cambiaso in particular) on that occasion, as they should have been wiser when trying to see out the match, while reserving a thought for Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove who fell ill against Inter earlier on Sunday.

“I am so sad about what happened to Bove, and my thoughts go especially to his family. It is terrible for a parent to see their child go through such a difficult time. I hope he can make a swift recovery so that his family may relax,” said the Juventus manager in his post-match press conference as published by the club’s official website.

“Regarding the match, we played well in the first half, but in the second half, we dropped off in intensity. Lecce started to take control and, although we defended well, we made avoidable mistakes that led to the equaliser.

“Cambiaso made the decision to try that move at that moment, but in games like these, we have to learn to manage certain situations better.”

On another note, Motta revealed we could see Kenan Yildiz play as a striker in the coming fixtures, at least if Dusan Vlahovic remains absent.

“Kenan can play either out wide or as a central striker. He is a versatile player, but today I preferred Timo [Weah] up front to stretch the game.

“In the first half, he worked well, but it is clear that in some situations we could have taken better advantage of his movement. Now we look forward, working to improve ahead of the next match.”