Thiago Motta: ‘Juventus do not have same luxury as Napoli’

NAPLES, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Thiago Motta Juventus head coach during the Serie A match between Napoli and Juventus at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on January 25, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Thiago Motta blamed fatigue and a packed fixture list for the fact Juventus fumbled another lead for the defeat to Napoli. ‘We do not have the luxury’ of one game per week.

The Bianconeri had gone into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead thanks to debutant Kolo Muani, who took just six touches in Italian football to get the goal on his debut.

However, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa’s header and a Romelu Lukaku penalty turned it around, as Juventus have incredibly fumbled 17 points from leading situations in Serie A this season.

Despite that, this was their first defeat of the tournament and it leaves them 16 points adrift of leaders Napoli. Is he worried?

“I am disappointed with the defeat. We had a good first half, causing our opponents a lot of problems, a side that is not top of the table as a fluke, because they have a great coach and had the opportunity to prepare all week for this,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.

“However, we did not have that luxury and it showed, because all the good work we did in the first half, we struggled to replicate in the second, and that is why we were unable to win.”

Check the Player Ratings for Juventus 2-1 Napoli

Thiago Motta sees Juventus excuses in Naples

Can this defeat be a wake-up call for Juventus so that they can start to react to negative situations?

“We reacted well in many other situations, we just didn’t do it today. Juventus have not won here since 2019, it is important to point that out, it is the sixth consecutive defeat for the club here, so evidently that is a tough place for Juventus,” continued Motta.

“I am very disappointed with the first Serie A defeat of the season, especially considering the good first half. Napoli pressed hard, pushed hard and inevitably have a small advantage over our team by being able to prepare all week for one game.”

Could the dip after the break solely be put down to the fact Juventus played in the Champions midweek, another dismal 0-0 draw away to Club Brugge?

“We showed strong character in the first half, played good football and caused our opponents problems by keeping possession, which is not easy here,” insisted Motta.

“We limited an important player like Lobotka and the idea was to be very solid in the second half, because we were against the Serie A leaders who are in good physical shape and were well-rested, whereas we were coming off a tiring game in Bruges.

“The idea was to press and defend well, but we were unable to do that because our quality was lacking and when we started giving the ball away, Napoli tended to win the duels and that gave them an advantage.”

While the decision to start Kolo Muani paid off with a goal, it will raise eyebrows that Dusan Vlahovic only came on for the final nine minutes when Motta used his third substitution slot of the game.