Luciano Spalletti, the new head coach of Juventus, confirmed that his team "deserved to take the lead" in the match against Sporting Lisbon, which ended in a 1-1 draw in the fourth round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, emphasizing that "the spirit shown by the players gives him confidence for the future."

This was Spalletti's first Champions League match with Juventus, just days after taking over from Igor Tudor, who was dismissed only a week prior, and it came after his first domestic victory against Cremonese (2-1) in Serie A.

Spalletti said: "Sporting is an excellent team, they play attacking football and have strong possession and high pressing. We started the match with difficulty, but then the players showed a great reaction, we controlled the match and created three or four clear chances. We deserved to take the lead."

He added: "What makes me optimistic is that we have talented players capable of making a difference, like Vlahovic, who worked hard throughout the match. We need to improve the speed of our passing and move the ball faster to force the opponent to move."

He emphasized: "There is a risk when you attack too much against a team like Sporting, they excel at playing in tight spaces, this is the Portuguese school of football. At times we were hasty in our decisions after regaining the ball, and we returned it to them easily."

Spalletti concluded his statements: "I still believe that this team is strong, and if we continue to play with this spirit, we will win many matches. The atmosphere at Juventus Stadium was amazing, and the fans gave us great support. I feel we are capable of achieving something special together."