‘We Had to Keep Believing and Fighting’: Woltemade Urges Juventus to Move Forward After Rennes Draw

Nick Woltemade says Juventus must keep their energy up after he set up one goal and scored another in a 2-2 Europa League draw with Stade Rennais.

The German striker created Zeki Celik's fifth-minute opener at the Allianz Stadium, then calmly scored a penalty in the 66th minute to level the game. He kept pushing after that and went close to a late winner with two headers. The point keeps Juventus unbeaten in the league phase.

Woltemade told Sky the team had to dig deep and put recent setbacks behind them. "We had to keep believing and fighting," he said. "We needed to turn the page after the Lazio game and find positive energy, especially tonight."

He added that Juve gave it everything but could not get the win. "We did everything we could to win, but it wasn't to be. Now we have to keep moving forward... with this kind of energy, things will go well."

[‘If I Don’t Win, I’m Not Happy’: Spalletti Reacts to Juventus Draw With Rennes]

Midfielder Teun Koopmeiners felt the team was the better side after the break. "The way we responded in the second half was significant... I think we deserved to win in the second half," he said.

Manager Luciano Spalletti also praised Woltemade and his team-mates for the way they reacted after going behind. 

"Those moments could have knocked us down, but the players kept playing, making decisions and working towards a solution," he said.

Rennes had gone ahead through goals from Musa Al-Taamari and a Boulaye Dia penalty before the break. Juve's reply came after the restart, and a late Jhon Lucumi goal was ruled out for offside.

Juventus now go back to Serie A, where they play Lecce on Sunday. After that they travel to the Netherlands to face AZ Alkmaar in their next Europa League game in November.