Juventus made it back-to-back victories when they beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 away from home in the Europa League on Thursday evening, but head coach Luciano Spalletti was still furious at his defenders for the way they handled the closing stages, telling Juan Cabal that he could punch him.
The Bianconeri took the lead through Teun Koopmeiners and saw their advantage doubled before the interval by Randal Kolo Muani, who has earned widespread praise for his performance in the Italian press.
ALKMAAR, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 05: Teun Koopmeiners of Juventus celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between AZ Alkmaar and Juventus at AZ Stadion on November 05, 2026 in Alkmaar, Netherlands. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Despite looking comfortable and without being particularly threatened by AZ Alkmaar for the majority of proceedings, Juventus did make life more difficult for themselves in the closing stages and ended up conceding in the 88th minute to Mexx Meerdink. It was then a nervous few minutes before the final whistle was sounded.
Spalletti wasn't best pleased with what he saw in the final few minutes of the 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar, and a clip of his shouting at full-back Juan Cabal on the sideline has since done the rounds on social media.
As per La Gazzetta dello Sport , the furious Spalletti shouted 'I'll punch you' while squaring up face-to-face with the Colombian.
Fortunately for the Bianconeri, they were able to get the result over the line in the end and Spalletti had calmed down by the time he spoke to the media after full-time .
ITALY – OCTOBER 28: Luciano Spalletti, head coach of Juventus, reacts during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and Juventus FC at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on October 28, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
"I am very satisfied, because we played well against a very strong team," Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia after full-time.
"I remember when all of you laughed in my face when we beat NEC 5-0 , you acted as if they were a ridiculous team, but NEC now have seven points in the Europa League.
"So perhaps people need to re-evaluate how they consider us, humility, and giving credit to a team without just constantly wanting to put pressure on.
"When we win a game, people act as if it was because the opponents were weak, or finding some excuses. We played a strong game against a great team tonight, and as we saw the moment our intensity dropped, they will take advantage.
ALKMAAR, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 05: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on before the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between AZ Alkmaar and Juventus at AZ Stadion on November 05, 2026 in Alkmaar, Netherlands. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
"We've seen in the Champions League, Europa League, these sides might have a predictable way of doing things, but it becomes a strength when they can do it that many times. It is constantly hammering away at those situations, we were pinned back, worried about whether or not to push out from defence, and a through ball caused a goal.
"There were mad scrambles, if the game lasted for another three or four minutes, I don't think we would've taken the result home."
