Juventus Coach Igor Tudor Reflects on Team’s Dedication Despite Last-Minute Equaliser

Juventus manager Igor Tudor expressed his frustration but commended his team’s performance after a late Matias Vecino header denied them a victory, resulting in a 1-1 draw against Lazio in Serie A on Saturday. The outcome complicates their pursuit of Champions League qualification.

Randal Kolo Muani fired the visitors into the lead shortly after half-time. However, the tide turned in Lazio’s favour when Pierre Kalulu received a straight red card just past the hour mark, leaving Juventus with ten men.

Despite resolutely defending their lead, Juve conceded a last-minute equaliser to Vecino, leaving Tudor lamenting yet another missed opportunity.

“We must praise the players, although there’s regret as we were just a minute away from securing three points,” Tudor stated to the media.

“It was a solid display, and we’ll accept this point while focusing on the challenges that lie ahead this week after all the difficulties we’ve encountered.”

Juve and Lazio now both sit on 64 points, one ahead of AS Roma in sixth place. Roma have the chance to leapfrog both teams into fourth if they manage to defeat third-placed Atalanta, who are currently on 68 points, on Monday.

When quizzed about the red card shown to 24-year-old Kalulu, which marked his first in professional football, much like 20-year-old Kenan Yildiz’s in the previous home game, Tudor highlighted the inexperience of his young squad as they navigate high-pressure situations.

“Certainly, youth and pressure are closely linked, and a lack of experience can lead to such occurrences,” he noted. “We have paid for these errors, but it’s important to learn quickly and look ahead.”

Tudor also elaborated on his decision to replace substitutes Vasilije Adzic and Francisco Conceicao with Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Gatti, a move that stirred some surprise among onlookers.

“I must clarify the substitutions, as they’re always made with the team’s best interest in mind,” he commented. “I rarely apologise to players, but I did so today because it was the right switch.

“In particular, Gatti deserves recognition. He came off the bench without having any training sessions and demonstrated great leadership.”

As injury concerns continue to mount in defence ahead of Juve’s match against Udinese next week, Tudor remains composed and determined.

“We’ll prepare as well as we can with the resources at our disposal, but we’re ready,” he asserted. “We’ll evaluate who recovers – we’re currently missing three defenders. Yildiz will return, and we’ll assess the others.”

“Today, we exhibited the mentality of a strong team – an attitude we will need to maintain in the coming fortnight.”

Discover the match stats here.