Tudor: 'Juventus won, but not a great performance in crazy 4

Igor Tudor admits he is not sure if Juventus ‘deserved’ to beat Inter 4-3 in a ‘crazy’ game, but assures he was not surprised by Vasilije Adzic’s scorching winner.

The Old Lady had started strong and went in front twice through Lloyd Kelly and Kenan Yildiz, only to be clawed back and then trail 3-2 with a Hakan Calhanoglu brace and Marcus Thuram header.

That felt fitting considering the sluggish performance coming out of the break, but the Bianconeri were revitalised to win 4-3 with a Khephren Thuram header and stopped-time screamer off the bench from teenager Vasilije Adzic.

Tudor not sure about ‘crazy’ 4-3 victory

“It was a crazy game, lots of goals, ups and downs, in the end we have a lot of happiness to beat a great team of high quality,” Tudor told DAZN Italia.

“We’re pleased, it was the third game, we’ve got another 35 to go.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Juventus 4-3 Inter

Adzic was an unexpected choice off the bench, but it proved to be inspired, as the 19-year-old won the match for Tudor.

“For the last five or six months we’ve been working with him, because we believe in his quality. We were trying to change some of the habits he had that we didn’t like, and he accepted that with the right attitude. We saw all week he was in good shape and had the idea of throwing him on.

“He has a strike from distance that is honestly rare in football. He must take this goal as a sign to keep working even harder.”

This result means Juventus maintain their 100 per cent record in Serie A this season after three rounds, the first time they started with three wins since 2018-19.

Inter had started to dominate after the restart, but Tudor’s changes off the bench shook things up.

“In a match like this, there are no favourites and previous form is wiped out. Inter have enormous quality, they are world class. Our performance was not what we could’ve done, especially in terms of pressing, but the hunger of those who came on helped us earn this victory. I don’t know if it was deserved, or if a draw was fair, but this is football,” said the coach.

Tudor also explained the tactical approach he tried with Kenan Yildiz, even if it didn’t quite work the way he intended.

“The idea was a diamond midfield with Yildiz behind Vlahovic, but we didn’t do the pressing at the right time, we didn’t do it the way we should’ve done. We were getting too deep too quickly. He did find some spaces behind the striker, it’s an idea we can repeat in future, as Yildiz is so talented, he ought to be closer to the goal and less wide. We had played in a different style, but we must adapt now that we have three centre-forwards, so think about how to get the best out of these players.

“We won today, even if it was not a great performance.”

Tudor scored for Juventus in another thriller, a 2-2 draw against Inter in 2002, so which did he enjoy more?

“The emotions were different, but considering the way this game was going, it was joyful. A truly crazy match.”

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