Thiago Motta: ‘Juventus 4-0 defeat not on same level as Empoli’ for painful moments

TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 09: Thiago Motta, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to 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)

Thiago Motta insists the 4-0 home defeat to Atalanta is ‘not on the same level’ as their Coppa Italia exit to Empoli, so he does not feel the need to apologise to Juventus fans.

Mateo Retegui’s penalty paved the way for one-way traffic in the second half, as Marten de Roon, Davide Zappacosta and Ademola Lookman shredded the defence for a 4-0 result.

Half the crowd left after the fourth goal, while the others remained to continue hurling insults at their team.

“I think we started a game that we knew was going to be complicated, against a team that wanted to make the most of our mistakes,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.

“After the penalty, without getting into the details of how debatable it was, that was a painful moment. We are a young team, we tried to pour forward and get back into the game, but that left gaps at the back.

“We struggled psychologically with that first goal and got unbalanced, giving Atalanta even more space to run into with players like Lookman and their wing-backs. After a defeat like this, we are sad, we are disappointed, but at the same time this talk of the Scudetto that you dragged us into will no longer be talked about.

“Now we have to regroup against another good side in Fiorentina and go forward.”

Thiago Motta stands up for Juventus

Juventus had more possession this evening, but a disastrous comparison in the xG scores, not to mention the 4-0 result.

These teams had played out a 1-1 draw in Bergamo back in January.

“It was a completely different game, as in Bergamo Atalanta played in a different way and took the game to us. Today we saw especially after the first goal that we tried to push forward and made mistakes, which made it easier for a side that is so strong on the counter-attack,” continued Thiago Motta.

“We knew that could happen before the game, which is why I said it was sad that the deadlock was broken by a penalty, even a debatable one. We got too unbalanced and made it much easier for them.”

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

It was possibly even worse than the Coppa Italia quarter-final elimination to Empoli on penalties, because La Dea completely dominated the Old Lady, but the coach did not see it that way.

“It is a defeat we do not like, but I do not put it on the same level as the defeat to Empoli. They are different situations. Our team started well and then after the penalty incident, the game changed,” insisted Thiago Motta.

“We needed to keep our balance and we didn’t do that, but it’s partly down to a lack of experience in the side.”

Thiago Motta had been Gian Piero Gasperini’s player at Genoa to revitalise his career, but he was taught a valuable lesson by his mentor this evening.