Thiago Motta: ‘Juventus must be more aggressive and balanced’ | OneFootball

Thiago Motta admits Juventus ‘need to improve the balance’ after another chaotic draw with Parma, explaining why he again left Kenan Yildiz on the bench.

Something seems to have shifted in the Bianconeri’s campaign recently, as while they had conceded only one goal in the opening eight rounds, they have now leaked six in two.

They also repeatedly had to fight back from 4-2 down to draw 4-4 with Inter on Sunday, here twice clawing their way into the game after Parma had taken the lead in Turin for 2-2 with Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah goals.

“We allowed a lot to Parma, we created a lot too, but we must try to avoid giving them so many scoring opportunities on the counter-attack. At times we did well, at others not so much, we need to improve the balance of good to bad,” Thiago Motta told Sky Sport Italia.

“We must use our style of football for longer periods to put the opposition under consistent pressure.”

Is it a coincidence that the number of goals conceded by Juve has surged since Gleison Bremer’s injury? In both the matches against Inter and Parma, Danilo was used in central defence, first alongside Pierre Kalulu, then tonight partnered with Fabio Gatti.

“The mistakes we made were technical in the final third of both ends. We cannot allow the other team to counter-attack every single time we make a mistake and lose the ball, especially when Parma had wingers who were waiting only for those moments to hurt us,” continued the coach.

Thiago Motta sees Juventus weakness

epa11693060 Juventus’ Weston Mckennie (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 1-1 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus FC and Parma Calcio, in Turin, Italy, 30 October 2024. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

Teun Koopmeiners made his comeback after several weeks out with cracked ribs as a late substitute. Does the former Atalanta man give Juventus greater control of the tempo and the initiative?

“He is an important player for us, but he cannot be the only one. We need to work as a team to maintain that balance and do it as a collective. Sometimes it got a bit chaotic and if we cannot finish the moves, then the opponents will go on the counter and take advantage. It’s something we need to avoid.”

It was put to Thiago Motta by the Sky Sport Italia studio that Juve are much slower to get back into shape now than they had been at the start of the season.

“I absolutely agree, we need to be immediately aggressive to win the ball back again and not allow them to go on the counter. It’s because we attack with many players and try to flood their penalty area, we need to pin the opponents back and not allow them to sprint 60-70 metres at us.”

Despite scoring a brace to secure the 4-4 with Inter midweek, Kenan Yildiz was again left on the bench in favour of Weah. The talented Turkey international provides great unpredictability, so why was he not starting?

“Weah played well today, I think when the game opens up a bit more, then Yildiz is ideal to play in those situations. He can play in a more central role or wide, he has the freedom to cut inside with the arrival of our full-backs and can either finish moves or provide assists. When he takes men on, he can give us a great deal.”

Juventus are still unbeaten in Serie A, but now seven points adrift of leaders Napoli, already a huge distance for the Scudetto race.

A lot of that has to do with their home form, drawing four and winning only two.