epa11763142 Juventus' Teun Koopmeinea jubilates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match Juventus FC vs Bologna FC at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, 7 December 2024. EPA-EFE/Alessandro Di Marco
epa11763142 Juventus' Teun Koopmeinea jubilates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match Juventus FC vs Bologna FC at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, 7 December 2024. EPA-EFE/Alessandro Di Marco
Teun Koopmeiners cannot celebrate his first goal in the Juventus jersey, because it came in yet another 2-2 draw against Bologna. ‘It is not enough for us to only play for 20 minutes.’
It was a dramatic evening at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin, as the Rossoblu had taken the 2-0 lead through Dan Ndoye and the delightful Tommaso Pobega dink on Santiago Castro’s back-heel flick assist.
However, Koopmeiners scored his first goal for the Bianconeri before Samuel Mbangula curled a 92nd minute equaliser into the top corner for 2-2.
See how the game unfolded on the Liveblog.
Koopmeiners wants more from Juventus
TURIN, ITALY - DECEMBER 07: Teun Koopmeiners of Juventus celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and Bologna at Allianz Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – DECEMBER 07: Teun Koopmeiners of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and Bologna at Allianz Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
He had said before kick-off that the plan was to play closer to centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic.
“Dusan is a danger both inside and outside the box, so am I, and we need to help the team any way we can,” Koopmeiners told DAZN.
In the final 20 minutes, the Dutch international roamed with more freedom, resembling the player he was for Atalanta.
“I think we should always play the way we did in the last 20 minutes, when we are aggressive, pushing forward, pressing and doing more. It is not enough for us to only do that for 20 minutes, we need to do more.”
Juventus continue to do fairly well and remain unbeaten in Serie A, but are always missing something to make that step up to all three points. What is the issue?
“It is difficult to say, but the energy we saw in the final 20 minutes has to be there for 90 minutes. The players must feel the responsibility to always be at that level. We saw in the last three or four games that we conceded in the latter stages, we must feel ourselves constantly fired up and ready.”
This was the first goal Koopmeiners scored in the Juventus jersey, having struggled to live up to the performances seen last season with Atalanta.
However, when asked if he was happy to finally break his duck, the midfielder shrugged it off.
“I do not feel happy, because I am a team player and I would’ve preferred to not score if it meant the team won. I understand you asking that question, but it is not how I feel right now.”
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