Juventus is beaten 1-2 against Milan in Riyadh in the semi-final of the Italian Super Cup. Thiago Motta’s team hurt themselves and paid dearly for the errors of Locatelli and Di Gregorio. It is now becoming a bad habit for the Juventus team to make serious mistakes during matches and especially in managing results. In fact, this season Juventus have only won against Lazio and Leipzig with a single goal difference. The defeat against Milan represents yet another setback for a young team that is also losing the support of its fans, now exhausted by the disappointing results.
Thiago Motta disappointed by his team’s reaction.
Thiago Motta, during the post-match press conference, analyzed the defeat against Milan: “Given what we did for 70/75 minutes we cannot be happy, because we played a good first half. At the start of the match it is normal for the two teams to respect each other, but we immediately took control and played well. The second half was on our side, we could have closed the game and we didn’t do it: on the other side there were few things, but our reaction to the episode was not ideal to be able to win and go to the final.” The Juventus coach said also answered questions about the changes made during the match: “I would do them again, you make decisions based on how you see the team: sometimes it goes well and you win, sometimes you lose and it’s up to you to make judgements.” To further complicate the Bianconeri’s evening, the problem with the flexor of the right thigh suffered by Conceicao during the warm-up should also be noted. The Portuguese will be evaluated in the next few days to understand the extent of the injury.
Locatelli says mea culpa.
Manuel Locatelli was the protagonist of the unfortunate episode that led to the penalty kick for Milan and then scored by Pulisic. The Juventus captain analyzed his performance in the press conference like this: “I think we had an excellent first half, then I made a mistake which affected the match and from there we were unable to react. Milan has grown, It’s a disappointment because we wanted to go to the final, but it’s part of the job.” Locatelli also responded to questions related to the lack of obsession with winning a trophy: “I have to analyze the match, you have to show your face when someone makes a mistake. I believe that everyone’s goal is to win, I think the coach spoke about obsession but it is something that must be sought every day at Continassa. It’s something that is always there at Juventus and an objective that we set ourselves, which is the basis of our work.”