Locatelli: ‘Juventus only had one bad performance’ in Club World Cup | OneFootball

Manuel Locatelli feels ‘the only game we really played badly was against Manchester City’ in the Club World Cup, as they were eliminated in a tight 1-0 result by Real Madrid.

The Bianconeri knew they had a difficult draw after finishing runners-up in their group to Manchester City, but it was only a slender 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in Miami.

Gonzalo Garcia was allowed a free header on the Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, though Michele Di Gregorio kept the scoreline down with several huge saves.

Locatelli saw Juventus improvement

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JULY 01: Vinicius Junior #7 of Real Madrid C. F. is put under pressure by Manuel Locatelli #5 of Juventus FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Real Madrid CF and Juventus FC at Hard Rock Stadium on July 01, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“I think today we gave our all, even against a very strong opponent, showed great team spirit. They managed to get a goal and we didn’t, it’s a pity, but the only game in this tournament where we really played badly was against Manchester City,” Locatelli told Sport Mediaset.

“We are Juventus and therefore had hoped to progress in the competition, but this is the way it went. Juve must never be happy if we go out, but we gave our all and had the right attitude, whereas against Manchester City we were too sluggish and allowed them to control the game.”

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JULY 01: Gonzalo Garcia #30 of Real Madrid C.F. scores his team’s first goal past Michele Di Gregorio #29 of Juventus FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Real Madrid CF and Juventus FC at Hard Rock Stadium on July 01, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

This defeat means that Juventus are out of the Club World Cup at the Round of 16 stage, the same as Inter, who were eliminated 2-0 by Brazilians Fluminense last night.

“It has been a long and intense campaign, we are tired, now we need to recharge the batteries and try to restart with more energy.”

While Juventus had doubts at the end of the Serie A campaign on who would be their coach going forward, Igor Tudor signed the new contract before the Club World Cup kicked off.

“It is not the time to think about next season, we just need to go spend some time with our families and recharge those batteries,” concluded Locatelli.