Failed To Score Again When Juventus Were Detained By Napoli, This Is Coach Thiago Motta's Answer

Juventus were only able to draw 0-0 against Napoli in the Italian Serie A competition. (X/@juventusfc)

JAKARTA - Juventus picked up a disappointing result after failing to score and only being able to draw 0-0 against Napoli in the Serie A Itala competition. This was coach Thiago Motta's answer after Juve failed to win the match which was held at home at Allianz Stadium, Saturday, September 21, 2024 evening WIB.

Juve for the third time played a goalless draw in a domestic competition. A disappointing result when Juve played at home. Moreover, Juve previously appeared convincing in the Champions League by beating PSV Eindhoven 3-1.

But when he returned to compete in Serie A, Juve returned to sluggish. There was no nervousness from the front lines of the team. Striker Dusan Vlahovic, who has only scored one goal for the umpteenth time, failed to break into the opponent's goal.

The goalless draw after being detained by AS Roma and Empoli matched Juve's achievements in the 1992 season. At that time Juve was handled by coach Giovanni Trapattoni. As a result, Juve failed to win the Scudetto which AC Milan won.

For Juve's failure to score in the big match, Motta blamed Napoli for appearing defensive. He didn't think that coach Antonio Conte chose to strengthen the defense sector during an away match against his former club.

"I didn't expect them to play as usual at our home. Whatever their strategy, we did have a hard time facing the team with a layered defense in the penalty area. This really made it difficult for us to attack," said Motta.

"In this match, we face a team that understands very well how to defend well. When the team stays very tightly, of course it is not easy to score goals. Moreover, we rarely kick from outside the penalty box," he said again.

However, Motta thinks Juve's performance is much better than against Roma. It's just that he admits the team's good performance wasn't enough to win the game.

"In my opinion, we played much better than when we faced Roma. However, we did have difficulties when facing opponents who defended very well. Their defenders were also very strong. We played well but it wasn't enough to win," said Motta.

Meanwhile, midfielder Weston McKennie said he was disappointed by Juve's failure to score a go in the game.

"It's hard to win if you can't score a goal. We need more contribution from the midfield," said McKennie.

"Frankly, Vlahovic is very disappointed that he has not scored a goal. We hope to help him score goals," he said.

The draw made Juve and Napoli fail to win the top position of the standings controlled by Torino. Now, Juve is ranked fourth with nine points. Similar to Empoli, who is ranked fifth because he lost on goal difference with Juve.

Meanwhile, Napoli, who pocketed 10 points, were in third place. The point is the same as Udinese. However, Udinese had a better goal difference than Napoli so they were in second place. Torino is at the top of the standings by pocketing 11 points.