Juventus secured a very important away win at AZ Alkmaar, taking a big step towards qualifying for the Europa League round of 16. However, the Bianconeri’s success was overshadowed by tension in the final minutes, with coach Luciano Spalletti at the centre of it.
The Italian side triumphed thanks to goals from Koopmeiners and Kolo Muani, also ending AZ’s unbeaten run of 17 home matches in European competitions. But despite the two-goal advantage and control of the game for most of the match, Juventus nearly made things difficult for themselves at the end.
First, a mistake by Kelly in Juventus’s midfield gave the opponent the chance to launch a counterattack, which was finished by Meerdink for the 2-1. A few minutes later, Juan Cabal repeated the defensive uncertainty, losing his position and his marker. AZ Alkmaar managed to score again, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
This situation angered Spalletti, who directly addressed the Colombian defender. Cameras caught the moment when the coach, with strong and irritated gestures, said: “I’ll punch you, do you understand? Do you understand?”
Cabal listened in silence to the coach’s reprimands before returning to his position. A scene that clearly shows Spalletti’s dissatisfaction with the lack of concentration, despite the important European win.