Juventus Boss Thiago Motta Delivers Honest Verdict on Club’s Champions League Exit

Juventus failed to advance from the Champions League knockout playoffs for the first time after 20 successive victories. Indeed, PSV Eindhoven came back from a 2-1 first-leg deficit to triumph 3-1 in extra time at the Philips Stadion yesterday night.

Despite coming into the game on the back of four consecutive victories for the first time under Thiago Motta, Juventus appeared out of their depth on Dutch soil. Indeed, the record-breaking Italian champions defeated Inter 1-0 in Sunday’s Derby d’Italia.

That was supposed to be the ultimate confidence booster. However, Juventus struggled in Eindhoven, resulting in a gut-wrenching Champions League elimination. Motta addressed the press after the game, admitting his charges have no one but themselves to blame for the exit.

“We struggled in the second half, had equalized in such an important moment for us and we were not capable of holding on to it,” Motta told Sky Sport Italia via TMW. “It was under control in the first half, it’s true that they pushed harder, while we hit the woodwork.

“We knew PSV were a quality side who push and attack, but we suffered a lot here,” the Juventus boss continued. “We cannot be happy with the two goals we conceded, especially with predictable changes of play and Bakayoko allowed to control the ball in our area.

“We must do much better if we want to compete at this level. At times we were in the game, at others they were superior. We knew that PSV would attack, but we were unable to do the things we needed throughout the match,” the Juventus manager concluded.