Locatelli: ‘Juventus fans have every right to jeer’ after embarrassing 4-0 defeat

TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 09: Manuel Locatelli of Juventus is challenged by Marco Brescianini of Atalanta during the Serie A match between Juventus and Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium on March 09, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Manuel Locatelli admits Juventus fans ‘have every right to jeer’ following a 4-0 home defeat to Atalanta, the heaviest home loss for the club since October 1967.

This was a head-to-head for third place with just three points separating the sides going in, but it was a completely dominant display.

La Dea emerged 4-0 winners from Turin with goals from Mateo Retegui, Marten de Roon, Davide Zappacosta and Ademola Lookman.

“It is hard to talk after a game like this,” confessed captain Locatelli on DAZN.

“I thought until the penalty it was a good performance, but when conceding the second straight after the restart, it knocked the wind out of our sails. We not only didn’t react, we opened up even worse and that made it easy for a side like Atalanta.”

It seemed like a completely different team to the one that earned five consecutive Serie A victories, especially as this was a head-to-head for third place and potentially even a chance to get into the Scudetto race.

Locatelli acknowledges Juventus jeers

While there were already many insults from the start of the second half, the situation deteriorated after the fourth goal, with roughly half the crowd walking out of the Allianz Juventus Stadium.

“Clearly, the fans have every right to jeer when they see a game like this. I always tell the younger players, and don’t forget we are a young squad and this doesn’t help us, but the atmosphere depends entirely on us and our performances,” noted Locatelli.

“The fans follow us all over and they have the right to jeer. We need to turn the situation around, it all depends on us and our attitude.”

Juventus had not lost a Serie A home fixture by four clear goals since October 1967, when losing the derby with Torino 4-0.

“I think we also need to give Atalanta credit, because they were so strong today and won every duel. We tried this in training, but they were just so good on the counter-attack and made the most of those situations.

“We need to give 100 per cent and keep working in training, it’s the only way forward.”