Juventus manager Thiago Motta faced the media following his team’s disappointing 3-0 loss to Fiorentina in Serie A, addressing the team’s recent poor form and lack of reaction in crucial moments. The defeat marks the second consecutive heavy loss for the Turin giants, following a 4-0 thrashing by Atalanta the previous week.
Speaking to DAZN after the match, Motta emphasized the importance of unity while acknowledging the need for improvement: “It’s crucial to stay united, all together, but each of us needs to give something more. We’ve had two ugly defeats. We start well, but at the first difficulty, we don’t find a way to react. A strong team must be strong in both phases, but if you’re not, you must at least do well defensively. In two games, we’ve conceded too many goals. We need to do much better to compete with our opponents.”
When questioned about the team’s horizontal play and lack of vertical passes, Motta explained: “They were pressing a lot, leaving a lot of space. Not only Kolo Muani but also McKennie and Thuram could have exploited it better. We did too little in the penalty area; we didn’t attack it to put the opponent in difficulty. We weren’t good offensively or defensively.”
Addressing his role as a potential lightning rod for criticism, Motta took full responsibility for the team’s performance: “Certainly, we all have our responsibilities, and I am the most responsible for what happens from the first day I signed the contract. The victories belong to our players because they’re the ones who go on the field, and I’m sure we can do better than these two ugly defeats. Even against Atalanta, we didn’t have the reaction.”
Motta concluded by outlining his plans moving forward: “I need to reset, regain the confidence that the team needs to do better. It’s up to me to find the way and the motivation so that they can go on the field to do their job well.”
