Luciano Spalletti was delighted with the mentality Juventus showed to see out a 1-0 win over Udinese.
Juve nosed themselves into Serie A’s top four, ahead of Sunday’s clash between Como and Roma, thanks to Jeremie Boga’s goal.
Kenan Yildiz provided a brilliant assist and thought he had helped set up a second for Juve midway through the second half, only for Francisco Conceicao’s strike to be disallowed.
Juve finished with an impressive 3.3 expected goals (xG), while limiting Udinese to just two attempts on target and 0.7 xG.
Spalletti’s team also had more possession, and the Bianconeri coach, who is now on 299 Serie A wins, was impressed by the control his team exerted on proceedings.
“When we see more of the ball, then we defend better,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
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“Possession isn’t just a superficial exercise; it is used to create chances, and that doesn’t mean taking unnecessary risks.
“You consolidate the dominance of the game, and then choose the moments when you should take those risks.
“We were perfect in that, not allowing Udinese many counter-attacks that we had to chase back.
“This reflects the mentality, as we played with the mentality of a strong team [against Udinese].
“The team did really well, maintaining that level of determination to close the game as soon as possible. We had also scored a second, but that’s fine, because we were up against a very strong opponent.”