Luciano Spalletti is not backing down on Kolo Muani. After the 1-1 draw between Juventus and Milan, the Bianconeri coach reiterated his faith in the French striker with a sentence that goes beyond a simple public defense: "I am and will remain in that carriage." A choice that the Tuscan coach takes personally and that he intends to carry forward until the end of the season.
Kolo Muani worked for the team against Milan, but failed to make an impact in the final few metres, particularly struggling to defend the ball against the Rossoneri defenders. The coach, however, does not change his mind: "I got on the Kolo Muani wagon, choosing him, loving him as a central striker, and now I'm staying there and I will stay until the end of the championship. At the end of the championship we'll see where this wagon has taken us", he said to DAZN's microphones in the post-match interview. A clear support, especially because it comes on an evening in which Juventus created a lot, but had difficulty converting the chances.
Spalletti defends Kolo Muani after Juventus-Milan
The reference to Kolo Mouani's "carriage" is not accidental. Spalletti openly takes responsibility for choosing the Frenchman as Juventus' central striker and postpones any assessment until the end of the championship. It is not a question of a trust with a deadline or linked to the result of a single match: the coach considers the striker one of the foundations on which the team must be built.
And the message takes on even more weight now that the team also includes Nick Woltemade, the striker who arrived in the final days of the transfer window, who made his debut in the black and white shirt against Milan, entering in the final minutes ("Nick is a player who has that height and is strong with his head, so he can be used", explained Spalletti).
The coach now has a new alternative for the central striker role, but at least publicly he does not question the hierarchy built around Kolo Mouani: the initial choice remains the Frenchman and Spalletti continues to defend him. The discussion is also linked to the analysis of the performance against Milan. Spalletti praised the attitude, the pressing and the ability to stay in the game even after the Rossoneri's advantage, but identified the main limitation in the decisions made near the opponent's area: "We need to improve in the choices we make and we should not ask for permission."
Spalletti: "Juve don't have to ask permission"
This is the moment that completes the assessment of Kolo Muani and the attacking phase of Juventus. According to Spalletti, the team reaches the right areas, but needs to be more determined when it comes to turning possession into a real opportunity: "In these games you can't ask for permission. You don't go there waiting to be invited. You go there and take what you have to take, if we want to raise our objective."
The equalizer scored by Gatti in extra time avoided a defeat that Spalletti considered undeserved. But the strongest message after the match is related to the future: the coach does not abandon Kolo Muani and does not raise doubts about his role. He chose the Frenchman to lead the attack and intends to judge this choice only at the end of the season, even now that Woltemade offers one more alternative. The cart is that of Kolo Muani, but the bet is above all on the technician Spalletti.
