[SASSUOLO, ITALY - JANUARY 06: Loïs Openda of Juventus during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
SASSUOLO, ITALY - JANUARY 06: Loïs Openda of Juventus during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)](https://football-italia.net/spalletti-slaps-openda-juventus-2-0-benfica/) Luciano Spalletti drew attention to himself after his decision to slap centre-forward Lois Openda before bringing him on during Juventus’s 2-0 victory against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Juventus kept their dreams of finishing the Champions League league phase in the top eight alive with a 2-0 victory against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on Tuesday night: Khephren Thuram and Weston McKennie with the goals.
Watch: Spalletti slaps Openda during Juventus 2-0 Benfica
Despite their victory, and the fact that they have drawn level on points with rivals Inter, one of the biggest talking points of Juventus’s victory was Spalletti’s decision to slap Openda on the sidelines.
Luciano Spalletti found a unique way to motivate and celebrate with his players during Juventus’ 2-0 win over Benfica 😲 pic.twitter.com/LpetFJ8HNo
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 21, 2026
The incident occurred just after McKennie had doubled Juve’s advantage midway through the second half.
While the players celebrated, the cameras stayed on the Juventus dugout, and showed Spalletti slapping Openda and telling him: ‘You have to wake up’, according to various outlets includingTuttosport.
TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 21: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Juventus and SL Benfica at Juventus Stadium on January 21, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 21: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Juventus and SL Benfica at Juventus Stadium on January 21, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
This was not the only touchline incident on Tuesday night that made headlines. Spalletti was also caught in confrontation with a supporter earlier on, telling the fan: ‘Listen, I only have fixe substitutions’ in response to frustrations regarding team selection.
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