Luciano Spalletti Faces Pressure at Juventus After Sassuolo Draw
Luciano Spalletti is already feeling the heat in Turin.
The chaotic finale against Sassuolo – a match Juventus both rescued and threw away in stoppage time – has lit the fuse. A late goal, two conceded in added time, and a chorus from the stands invoking one name: Antonio Conte.
Inside the club, though, the message is very different.
Carnevali backs Spalletti
CEO Giovanni Carnevali moved quickly to shut down talk of a bench revolution, speaking to Radio Anch’io Lo Sport.
“Changing the manager frequently is not in my MO. I'm not considering it at all. We must plan and build,” he said, stressing a long-term vision over a knee-jerk reaction. “There'll be some disappointments along the way, but also some satisfactions eventually. Spalletti is an extraordinary coach, one of the absolute best for how he works on the pitch.”
Carnevali underlined that this is not a club drifting without a plan.
“The evaluations are constant, but you must know what you're doing. I've been here for three months, and we tried to understand the opportunities and the possibilities. We need a bit of time. We must forge ahead without dwelling on what has been done in the past.”
The words are clear: no panic, no quick trigger, no Conte – at least not now.
A project built together, then hit by injuries
According to Corriere dello Sport, Spalletti and the new management constructed this Juventus side together, step by step. Every signing was shared, every move aligned with a precise idea: a 4-2-3-1 with depth, two reliable options in every role, and a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts.
Juventus spent heavily to deliver that blueprint. They didn’t cash in on any major sales, choosing instead to reinforce without dismantling. On paper, it looked like a serious attempt to modernize the team and hand Spalletti the tools he wanted.
Then the injuries arrived early and hard, ripping through that carefully drawn plan. Key absences have forced constant adjustments and stripped the side of continuity and, at times, identity.
The result is a Juventus that looks disjointed, especially in moments of pressure – like the meltdown against Sassuolo.
Spalletti under scrutiny, Conte in the shadows
Spalletti has cut a subdued figure on the touchline so far, his team reflecting that flatness in too many phases of play. The collapse in stoppage time was more than a bad ending; it was a warning siren.
Yet a coaching change now would be a drastic overreaction. Juventus are not in full-blown crisis, even if that finale was indefensible for a club of this stature. The table isn’t burning, but the mood around the stadium is volatile.
This group urgently needs new reference points on the pitch – technical leaders, voices that hold the line when the game turns wild. With so many injuries, Spalletti must find a different structure that still holds up, a version of his idea that survives the absences and the pressure cooker of Serie A.
The league does not slow down for anyone. Not for injuries, not for projects, not for reputations.
Conte, as Carnevali knows, is not a man who usually walks into a job mid-season. His methods demand a clean slate and a full pre-season. But his name will hover over every setback, every late goal conceded, every dropped point.
Spalletti has the backing of the board and the squad he helped build. The question now is simple and unforgiving: how long can that be enough with Conte’s shadow stretching across the entire campaign?
