Zeki Çelik put Juventus ahead early, but Rennes responded through Musa Al-Taamari before Boulaye Dia converted a penalty to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Nick Woltemade equalised for Juventus, who thought they had snatched a late winner through Jhon Lucumí, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Spalletti was satisfied with the character his players showed to recover, particularly after the setbacks threatened to derail their evening.
“I’m satisfied with our attitude, because coming back into the match at a moment like this was difficult. The players kept working to get back into it, accepted the difficulties and pushed forward. They were rewarded in the end, even though we hadn’t done anything particularly spectacular to concede those two goals. Certain incidents could have brought us to our knees, but we kept trying to recover and were rewarded.”
The Juventus coach also assessed the partnership between Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani, who started together. He believes the pair can offer more when they combine their individual qualities.
“They did well today, but I think I can expect more from both of them because their qualities are greater than the performance they produced this evening. What they can create together is more than the sum of their individual abilities. They can coexist, but when they work together, they can become three rather than two. They had a good game, but they can do more.”
Spalletti acknowledged that Juventus still need to become more comfortable controlling matches in advanced areas, rather than allowing opponents to dictate the rhythm.
“When we went behind, we were a little worried. But we played to win until the end and had a very positive attitude. We were in a ‘let’s compete’ mindset rather than sitting back. This is a good team, with technical and quick players and great potential. We have to show that we are better than our opponents.”
Rennes coach Franck Haise was proud of his players’ response and the way they resisted Juventus’ late pressure, even though they left Turin without the victory.
“I’m happy with what we did this evening. We should be pleased when the players respond like that, and we stood firm at the end when Juventus were pushing. I’m proud of the players.”
Haise also welcomed the tactical flexibility his team had shown, saying the change in formation had helped them manage Juventus’ pressure. However, he felt the result fell short of a historic night.
“I’m very happy with the performance, but to achieve a historic result you have to win. In the end, we also risked losing after the disallowed goal.”
The draw leaves Juventus with work to do, but Spalletti will take encouragement from their recovery. Rennes, meanwhile, demonstrated their ability to trouble a major opponent and leave with a result.