With just seven rounds remaining, Juventus need wins. Igor Tudor has been tasked with delivering a top four finish, and it seems the faith the new boss has in his players directly led to Saturday’s win over Lecce.
A number of key decisions made by the Coach paid off, with Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz and Dusan Vlahovic all making vital contributions that led to the Bianconeri running out 2-1 winners on Saturday evening in Turin.
Less than two minutes had been played when Vlahovic delivered a perfect through ball to Koopmeiners, the Dutch international – back in the starting XI – drilling a left footed effort into the back of the net.
Juventus outcasts thrive under Tudor
It was the kind of goal that Koopmeiners scored routinely for Atalanta, reaching double figures in each of the two previous seasons before Juve paid €51.3 million ($58.28 million) to sign him last summer.
Yet it was only his third league goal of 2024/25, the 27-year-old losing his way since the move but there were definitely flashes of his quality throughout this encounter. The same can be said of Vlahovic, who had been relegated to the bench by former boss Thiago Motta but has started all three games since Tudor’s arrival.
He was credited with an assist on the match winning goal in the new boss’ first game against Genoa, and probably should’ve scored twice after laying on the opener v Lecce. However, he soon made amends, capping off a wonderful team move as he laid the ball off for Kenan Yilidz to lash home from the edge of the area.
Like Vlahovic, Yildiz had lost the faith of Motta, but coaching change has not only seen him restored to the starting XI but also pushed back into his favoured no.10 role. Two goals in three games have followed, and the Turkey international is in no doubt that the arrival of Tudor
“The new coach brought fresh energy,” Yildiz told DAZN, while Manuel Locatelli – who started the move that led to the vital second goal – delivered another excellent performance in central midfield.
The Juve Captain was arguably the best player on the pitch in last week’s draw with AS Roma, and backed that up with another all action display as statistics from WhoScored.com show he registered five tackles, three clearances and blocked two Lecce shots.
According to the same source, Locatelli also completed a game-high 127 passes and created two clear scoring opportunities for his team-mates before using a post-match interview to credit the impact Tudor’s arrival has had.
“It is clear that we are putting a lot more energy into our performances and showing a lot of enthusiasm,” Locatelli told Sky Italia. “That’s what the coach asked us to do, he asked us to approach the game in a strong way and to continue like that, that’s what we have to do.
“We have to approach matches like this.”
Juventus players repay Coach’s faith
That stands in stark contrast with the atmosphere under Tudor’s predecessor. According to multiple reports, Thiago Motta had lost large sections of the dressing room with the Coppa Italia exit to Empoli seen as the tipping point.
Motta described that defeat – analysed in detail in this previous column – as “rock bottom” and said that he was “ashamed” and “embarrassed” by the performance. Just three games later, the Coach was replaced and results have immediately improved with Juve collecting seven points from three outings under Tudor thus far.
With Atalanta and Bologna going head to head on Sunday, his side are guaranteed to end the weekend in the top four. Only six games remain, and if the players continue to repay the faith Igor Tudor is putting in them, the Coach should succeed in his mission to secure Champions League football for Juventus next season.
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