Juventus kicked off their Champions League campaign with a convincing 3-1 win against PSV Eindhoven at home. Goals from Yildiz, McKennie, and Nico Gonzalez secured the victory for the Italian side. After the match, Juventus manager Thiago Motta shared his thoughts on the team’s performance with Sky Sport.
Motta began by praising Weston McKennie’s contribution: “I like Weston, as I do all the players. He started today and did well, like everyone else. It’s a good result, and now we must already start preparing for the next match. Weston is part of the group and can give us a lot.”
The Juventus coach emphasized the importance of the win but also stressed the need for improvement: “It’s important that we started with a victory, and we need to continue like this. We have to keep working and improving, like everyone else.”
Addressing Dusan Vlahovic’s performance, Motta said: “We’ve started working with him. He always presents himself in good condition and helps in the defensive phase. Today he didn’t score, and like all strikers, he always wants to score. He does many things well. Today, like the whole team, he could have done better. I’m happy with his work. He needs to manage his emotional side because it can happen that you don’t score, but there are many things to do. The goals will come.”
Motta elaborated on Vlahovic’s role in the team: “We have a game to play, and we also need to create spaces for others. He’s giving his maximum effort, and I’m happy with him. I’m convinced the goals will come.”
In conclusion, Motta identified areas for improvement: “I think that today, for almost the entire match, we were subjected to PSV’s game too much. We’re sure we can do better in possession. At this level, to compete with teams that want to have possession, we need to raise our level on this aspect and be consistent throughout the match. Now we need to recover and prepare for the next league game, which will be beautiful.”
