Luciano Spalletti has put the Juventus crisis into words after the 0-3 home defeat to Lazio at the Allianz Stadium on 18 October 2026. Speaking after Juventus vs Lazio, he said, "will the team follow me? Until yesterday, I thought I could answer yes, but today, I doubt it." The loss left Juventus eighth in Serie A after seven matches, with 11 points, 8 behind Lazio in second place.
Spalletti's authority after the defeat
The bigger problem is not the scoreline itself, it is the way Spalletti spoke about it. He also said, "Before talking about the team, we have to look at ourselves as individuals. In my own analysis, looking at the way things were managed and the journey that led to tonight’s performance, I need to examine myself. I need to ask myself questions and find the answers, otherwise it becomes too easy to just shift the blame onto others."
That is a coach publicly questioning whether the dressing room is still behind him, and it lands badly when the league table is already so poor. Juventus have 11 points from 7 matches and sit eighth, while Lazio's 19 points show the visitors arrived with real momentum.
Former Juventus voices and the Conte talk
The criticism did not stop with Spalletti. Alessio Tacchinardi said that a year after Spalletti's appointment he does not see a clear identity or an improved team, and Fabrizio Ravanelli went further, saying Juventus lack personality and calling them a badly built team.
Both views point in the same direction. Juventus do not just have a results problem, they have a reference-point problem, and the attack has not given them much to lean on either. Nick Woltemade has made 5 Serie A appearances without a goal, even if he has already scored 2 Europa League goals, while Francisco Conceição has 2 Serie A goal contributions in 7 league games.
The Conte chatter has also come back. Riccardo Trevisani said, "Conte back in the bianconeri? He would come back running," while Tacchinardi added that only he could give the team a mental turning point. That speculation may run ahead of events, but it is not coming out of nowhere after a home loss like this one, and Juventus will have to answer it on the pitch after starting with 11 points from 7 matches.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →
