Giampaolo: ‘Lecce Plan A ruined by early Juventus goal’ | OneFootball

Marco Giampaolo admits Lecce saw ‘Plan A ruined’ by conceding a Juventus goal in the second minute, but explained his tactical tweaks during the 2-1 defeat in Turin.

The Salentini had a disastrous start, because Teun Koopmeiners opened the scoring after 100 seconds, then Kenan Yildiz finished off a well-worked move on 33 minutes.

By the time Federico Baschirotto nodded in a free kick, it was a little too late to complete the comeback and they capitulated 2-1.

“We conceded after just over a minute, so Plan A was rather ruined. We had intended to press high and keep Juve as far away from our goal as possible, but we understood at 2-0 we had to change the approach,” Giampaolo told Sky Sport Italia.

Lecce were also forced into a change because Gaby Jean was stretchered off with a sprained knee.

“I told the lads at half-time we needed to be more solid, that the plan had changed, and we did very well in the second half. There were some incidents where we could’ve done better, including some refereeing decisions, but we saw how we managed to get the game open again.”

There was a surprise when Nikola Krstovic was substituted at half-time, so was it due to an injury?

“I took Krstovic off because he looked very irritable at the referee giving a clear Renato Veiga foul against him, so I was worried he could get himself sent off and preferred to substitute him.”

Lecce hint at future tactical changes too

TURIN, ITALY – APRIL 12: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus is challenged by Gaby Jean and Balthazar Pierret of US Lecce during the Serie A match between Juventus and Lecce at Allianz Stadium on April 12, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Giampaolo also surprised by moving to a three-man defence, perhaps mirroring the way Igor Tudor has set Juventus up since taking over from Thiago Motta.

“Juve have players who are very talented at moving the ball into space, so we could not defend with four. The trouble is that we should’ve covered the width better. I had already decided at the start of the week we’d play like this,” explained the coach.

“Teams now are very versatile, and it is a solution we can try again in certain matches.”

The next Lecce match is a head-to-head for safety with Como at the Stadio Via del Mare and Giampaolo is not beating around the bush after scraping one point from the last seven rounds.

“It is absolutely fundamental for our season, there is no getting away from that.”

Lecce are struggling to find the net in recent months and that is one of the reasons for their struggles, so can the coach do something to increase their potential in attack?

“A coach can do more, of course. Juve were in great shape, but we stayed in the game, hung on and risked an equaliser at the end, especially with that free kick we were denied on N’Dri in stoppages right outside the area. It was a clear foul from Lloyd Kelly.

“Anyway, I mustn’t say anything else, I got a big fine last time.”