JUVENTUS VS LECCE 2 - 2

WHAT IS YOUR REASON NOW RANIERI?


Claudio Ranieri admits he doesn't know why Juventus are faltering so badly and will only continue “if the club has faith in the Coach.”

The Bianconeri were held to a 2-2 draw by Lecce and are now without a win in five games, dropping four points off Milan in second place.

“We were visibly more tired than Lecce and we'll talk over the reasons in the week. They train hard and run with great enthusiasm, so I don't know what could've happened.”

The Stadio Olimpico crowd was furious and aimed numerous chants against the players, tacticians and club directors.

“It isn't pleasing to see those protests, but sometimes they can act as a motivating force,” noted Ranieri.

“We may run more, but we're not really going anywhere because we are tactically not as united and organised. In effect it tires us out.

“I already said 10 days ago that we have to stay quiet and do our best. As with every business, at the end of the season we'll see if the objectives have been reached and our plans for the future.

“If the club still has faith in its Coach then we can carry on. It has been a terrible month, so we have to roll our sleeves up and dig ourselves out of this hole.

“I only see one Juventus and we are all working together to achieve our objectives. We try to win the games, but recently have struggled to do so and we know that more than anyone.”

Once again Juve conceded on counter-attacks and were caught out in stoppages against Lecce.

“I am not accusing the defence specifically, as we score and concede all together, but we have been leaking goals repeatedly for a month.

“The fans are right to be disappointed and so are we. We wanted to end the season on a high and are not managing it. In football what you do today counts, not the day before, so we must get ourselves back on track.”

This afternoon Fabio Cannavaro flew in to Italy for his medical in Perugia, ready to complete a free transfer from Real Madrid.

“There is no meeting with Cannavaro on the agenda,” commented Ranieri.

This is the player rating from Goal.com

Buffon- 7.0: Little he could do on either goal and he made a world class save on Tiribocchi late on in the proceedings.

Grygera- 5.5: Dealt well with the threat of Ariatti, but offered little else on the evening.

Mellberg- 6.5: In the first half he struggled with the pace of Konan, but the Swede was a threat in the air on set pieces.

Legrottaglie- 6.5: Kept Tiribocchi quiet for large portions of the match and can be relatively proud of his performance.

De Ceglie- 5.0: The player has been unable to have an impact since returning from injury and today was no different for the left-back.

Camoranesi- 5.5: An ineffective showing from the Italo-Argentine and he was removed at ahlf-time because of it.

Zanetti- 5.0: He was far better against Reggina last week. Against the Salentini, he made far too many wayward passes.

Nedved- 7.5: A constant threat down the left and played in plenty of crosses. His brace was the right rewards for his efforts on the day.

Iaquinta- 6.5: Full of running down the right side and always offered an option up front. However, he missed a sitter in the first-half.

Amauri- 7.5: An excellent return to the starting XI for the Brazilian, who held up the ball well and caused plenty of problems for Lecce, even assisting the first goal.

Del Piero- 6.0: Had a few tricks up his sleeve, but besides hitting the post was largely anonymous and removed at half-time.

Substitutes

Poulsen - 6.0, Marchionni- 6.5, Zebina- N/A

LECCE

Benussi- 6.0: Made a few good interceptions and parries, but he could have done better to prevent Nedved's second strike.

Polenghi- 4.5: Nedved was able to constantly beat him to the ball, overall a poor performance.

Fabiano- 7.0: Led the back-line with plenty of composure and even came close to scoring a late goal with a fizzing strike off a corner.

Esposito- 6.5: Certainly has a bright future ahead of him, Amauri always needed something special to get past the young defender.

Giuliatto- 5.5: Iaquinta often found space down his side, leaving Fabiano and Esposito with plenty of work to do for the entirety of the match.

Giacomazzi- 6.5: Played a nice through pass for the opening goal and was the creative force in midfield for the Giallorossi.

Edinho- 6.5: The Brazilian was active in midfield and helped his side back into the match by making excellent decisions with the ball at his feet.

Vives- 4.0: Did very little before being removed on 72 minutes as coach De Canio threw on a striker in search of an equalizer.

Ariatti- 5.0: The veteran midfield did very little playmaking and was not a factor for his side offensively or defensively.

Konan- 6.5: His pace caused plenty of difficulties for Juventus in the first half and he scored a fine goal, even if possibly offside. Nonetheless, he disappeared in the second half.

Tiribocchi- 6.5: The Roman was often isolated, but made some key plays at the end of the match leading to Lecce's late equalizer.

Substitutes

Papadopoulos- 6.5, Castillo- 7.0, Basta - N/A