Juventus faced a frustrating evening as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Empoli in their Serie A encounter at the Carlo Castellani stadium. The result left manager Thiago Motta with mixed feelings about his team’s performance.
Motta acknowledged the team’s defensive solidity but emphasized the need for improvement in attack. “We didn’t concede, which is the responsibility of the entire team. In the second half, we improved by utilizing our wide players and pushing Empoli back,” he explained.
Despite the clean sheet, the Juventus coach was not entirely satisfied with the outcome. “We’re returning home with a point, which clearly isn’t what we wanted. It wasn’t the result we were aiming for. However, the performance was good, and it’s right to continue on this path,” Motta stated.
The manager also commented on individual performances, particularly that of young talent Yildiz and striker Dusan Vlahovic.
“Yildiz has physical strength and dribbling ability. At times, the game went our way, at others it didn’t. The idea was to open up a five-man defense, although we can do better in certain phases,” Motta explained.
Regarding Vlahovic, Motta emphasized the need to better utilize the striker’s strengths. “We need to serve Vlahovic more in depth and with crosses. He attacks the box well and has a good heading ability. These are the two ways we should look to help him score more,” he said.
The coach also addressed Vlahovic’s occasional frustration on the pitch. “Dusan sometimes gets nervous, which is normal for a striker who lives for goals. However, he works well on other aspects both in attack and defense. He’s a leader in the group and is improving in this regard as well,” Motta added.
With the Champions League on the horizon, Motta expressed pride in the team’s participation in such a prestigious competition. “For me and all of us, it’s an honor to play in such an important competition,” he said.
Looking ahead to their upcoming match against PSV Eindhoven, Motta stated, “We need to take the things we can improve on and give continuity to the work done so far. PSV has great quality, it will be a balanced match, although we will try to dominate the game to create chances in our favor.”
