Luciano Spalletti rejected the suggestion that fatigue within his Juventus team contributed to their drop in performance during Monday’s 2-0 win over Genoa.
Juventus moved to within one point of the Champions League places after their victory at the Allianz Stadium, secured by two goals early in the match.
A Bremer header in the fourth minute opened the scoring for Spalletti’s team before Weston McKennie completed a sweeping counterattack with a clever finish 13 minutes later.
McKennie then squandered two glorious chances either side of the break from inside the six-yard box before Jonathan David’s long-range shot thundered off the left post.
However, Juventus’ lack of intensity after the break almost caught up with them again when Bremer fouled Aaron Martin inside the area, with the decision eventually made after a VAR review saw a free kick originally awarded.
But half-time substitute Michele Di Gregorio did brilliantly to deny Martin from 12 yards, before getting back to his feet to repel the Spaniard’s volley moments later.
There were complaints that some members of the Juventus team looked tired, which Spalletti insisted could not be the case as his players were given extra time in preparation for the match.
“It wasn’t tiredness, we didn’t train yesterday or the day before,” Spalletti told Sky after full time, quoted by Football Italia.
“I left them alone because they needed to recover. They had two days off, a practice and a half and then they took a break, so that’s not it.”
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Despite Spalletti’s concerns, it was a positive day for Juventus, who moved three points clear of sixth-place Roma, who were beaten by leaders Inter on Sunday.
Spalletti also became the fourth manager to win 300 games in Serie A, after Giovanni Trapattoni (352), Massimiliano Allegri (320) and Nereo Rocco (302).
Juventus have also won three of their last four Serie A games (D1), as many wins as in the previous eight (D2 L3), although the Bianconeri coach admitted that he still does not always know what kind of performance he is going to get from his players.
“Sometimes we have to accept that we are not the best versions of ourselves. After six or seven months here, I am still not sure what I am facing,” Spalletti added.
“It’s not possible to have a first half like that and then a second half like that. And if they go ahead and score the penalty, it becomes a very difficult night.”
Juventus return to league action on Saturday against Atalanta, and in their next three matches they will face Europe-chasing Bologna and AC Milan.
