Juventus, Spalletti in the press conference before their Europa League debut against NEC Nijmegen

The Juventus manager speaks before their first European match of the season and three days after the defeat to Sassuolo

Luciano Spalletti, manager of Juventus, spoke at a press conference on the eve of tomorrow's Europa League league phase opener against NEC Nijmegen, which kicks off at 9pm at the Allianz Stadium.

ON NEC

"They play a recognisable brand of football and we are expecting a distinctive approach in terms of the quality of their ideas. We have to be ready, otherwise we risk being genuinely surprised. They average two goals a game and that says a lot about the football they want to play. We know Nuytinck because he was at Udinese, but there is also Tadic. They play with inverted wingers to create situations through the middle, then there will be constant pressure and we will have to be sharp mentally, otherwise it could become an awkward evening."

On Juventus' approach

"We are aware there are things to improve and we have analysed in depth what happened, mapping out what we want to do and what needs to be corrected so it does not happen again. We probably need to be more compact to close off certain passing lanes, know when to defend as a team and wait for the opposition's mistake. Even if the explanation lies less and less in collective tactics, that is no longer the first aspect to focus on when some problems emerge, but mental sharpness will be important tomorrow, the real quality that can help you overcome problems on the pitch. Whoever thinks first, plays first and defends first, does everything first."