MY ACCOUNT
Paulo Dybala said Juventus “don’t play good football” after refusing to celebrate his goal in Saturday’s 2-0 Serie A win over Udinese.
Dybala’s future is in doubt as the Argentina forward’s contract expires at the end of the season and the 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Serie A rivals Inter.
He did not celebrate his opener in the victory at the Allianz Stadium, instead glaring intensely towards the stands.
Asked if that was a signal to the club’s directors over contract negotiations, Dybala dryly told Sky Sport Italia: “I invited a friend and couldn’t see him. There are many people up there watching and I couldn’t find him.”
After being asked if he was telling the truth, Dybala responded: “I don’t know, that’s up to you. There have been a lot of stories, and many things happened that I prefer not to talk about.”
The result stretched Juve’s unbeaten streak to eight games – only Inter have a longer run (12) – while they moved level on points with fourth-placed Atalanta as they chase a Champions League qualification spot.
Since the start of November, Juve have gained 26 points in Serie A – more than any other side in this period, although Inter (25) and Atalanta (22) have played two fewer games.
Dybala was less than complementary about Juve’s playing style, though, and said they need to focus on working harder than their opponents during the closing months of the season.
“I think we played well. We must try to be more consistent after scoring goals, as too often we score and then start to defend more, become afraid of attacking, and we can’t keep doing that,” he added.
“We are Juventus, of course we are in the running for the Champions League spots and must try to win. We don’t play good football; that is not our strength, so we need to focus on hunger and trying to run harder than anyone else.”
Juve are next in action on Tuesday when they host Sampdoria in the last 16 of the Coppa Italia.
