Conceição punched the bench after his exit. Spalletti: be angry with yourself

By the Data Desk · Published 16 OCT 07:40

Francisco Conceição walked off at Balaídos, struck the bench with his fists and disappeared down the tunnel, and his coach did not protect him afterwards. "It would do him well to be angry with himself," Luciano Spalletti said after Juventus came from behind to win 2-1 at Celta Vigo, Corriere dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia report.

• Conceição was taken off on 64 minutes, just after Nick Woltemade's equaliser, and hit the bench before going to the dressing room (Corriere dello Sport, Football Italia).
• He told Sky Sport Italia he hit the area where he sits but "did not have any dialogue with a member of staff".
• Spalletti also said Kolo Muani played "too much as a winger" and that Koopmeiners "doesn't feel all that confident", three days before Juventus host Lazio.

The scene came at the worst moment for Conceição. Hugo Álvarez had put Celta ahead on 18 minutes, Woltemade levelled on 58, and a few minutes later the Portuguese winger was replaced in a triple change with Kerim Alajbegović. Corriere dello Sport describes him "colpendo ripetutamente la panchina con dei pugni" (repeatedly hitting the bench with his fists) and writes that he seemed to argue with a member of Spalletti's staff who came over to calm him. Randal Kolo Muani, one of the substitutes, won the game in stoppage time from Andrea Cambiaso's cross.

Conceição gave his own version to Sky Sport Italia. "I want to clarify that I did not argue with anyone," he said, as translated by Football Italia. "I went off, I hit the area of the bench where I sit down, but I did not have any dialogue with a member of staff. I went into the dressing room to change my shirt, go to the bathroom, and came back out after a few minutes." So the bench was hit; the row with the staff is Corriere dello Sport's reading, and the player denies it.

Spalletti chose not to defend anyone. "If he has something to say, I think it is against himself for his performance," he said of Conceição, adding that the staff reported no bad attitude, while Kolo Muani, in his words, "interpreted the role too much as a winger" and had to be moved inside. On Teun Koopmeiners he said "he probably doesn't feel all that confident right now precisely because he doesn't play regularly" and that "he needs to improve". He also admitted his team were "a bit slow in doing everything during the first half".

The context makes those words heavier. Juventus played without Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli, they drew 1-1 at Cagliari last weekend, and the win at Celta needed a 92nd-minute goal. What happens next: Juventus v Lazio, Sunday 18 October at 20:45 CEST, then Rennes away in the Europa League.