TURIN, Italy (Reuters) – Napoli showed unexpected courage and defended well, Juventus coach Thiago Motta said after the visitors held his side to another goalless draw in Serie A on Saturday.
Juventus started their campaign with two convincing 3-0 wins against Como and Hellas Verona but have failed to score in the league ever since, recording three 0-0 draws so far in September.
“I expected this attitude (of Napoli), although they played at our home and I didn’t expect them to be as courageous as they normally are,” Motta told a press conference.
“(Whether it was) their strategy or our merit, we found ourselves with the team with a low defensive block in the penalty area and therefore difficult to attack.
“It’s not a question of filling (the box) but of attacking it at the right time,” Motta said.
“Today, however, we faced a team that knows how to defend the penalty area well. When a team closes up, it’s not easy to score. Today we didn’t make much use of outside shots.
“In my opinion today we did better than in the match against AS Roma. Inside the box, today it was difficult against a team that defends well with defenders who are strong in the area… We had a good performance but not enough to win.”
The last time Juventus drew three games in a row without scoring a goal was in 1992, under Giovanni Trapattoni.
Juventus finished the game with one shot on target and striker Dusan Vlahovic, goalless in his fourth consecutive game across all competitions, was substituted at halftime.
“It’s difficult to win without scoring, we needed an extra contribution from us midfielders too,” said Weston McKennie.
“(Vlahovic) won’t be happy but the whole team must put him in a position to score.”
Juventus travel to 11th-placed Genoa next Saturday before they visit RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Oct. 2.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; editing by Clare Fallon)
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