Thiago Motta: Juventus ‘ready’ but ‘need to deserve’ qualification against PSV | OneFootball

Juventus coach Thiago Motta has no doubts that their return-leg play-off at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League will be the ‘most important match’ of their season, as the Bianconeri need either a win or a draw to progress to the round-of-16.

The Old Lady travel to the Netherlands following a 2-1 win at the Allianz Stadium last week, but Motta insisted his men ‘never play for a draw’ and are ‘ready to play a great match’ to continue their moment of form after their recent victory over Inter in Serie A.

TURIN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 02: Thiago Motta, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on ahead of the Serie A match between Juventus and Empoli at Allianz Stadium on February 02, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Thiago Motta: PSV clash the ‘most important game’ of Juventus season

“Until today, in our season, tomorrow is the most important,” Motta said at a pre-match press conference, as quoted by TMW.

“We need to play a complete match; we’ve seen that they are a team of the highest level, so we have to raise everything to the maximum level in all aspects of the game, including physical and mental, in order to secure this qualification for the round-of-16.”

“Douglas Luiz will not be with us, and we hope it’s as soon as possible. Cambiaso will be with us, and yesterday we did some precautionary work with him. After the Inter match, preparing for such an important game is not difficult.

“We come from an important win, and we are ready to play a great match and reach the Round of 16.

“It’s a team goal. This is the most important match of our season. We know it’s important; we’ve taken an important first step, but we know it’s not enough.

“We know a draw is enough, even though we’ve had too many draws, and we’ve never been happy with them. When we draw, we’re unhappy; we never play to draw. We don’t know how to do it.

“The management is done in the final minutes; we always enter the field to win, and tomorrow will be the same, using our heads, to understand and interpret the moments, doing very well in both possession and out-of-possession phases.

“We’ve tried to do this, with determination and the desire to secure this passage to the last-16. But we have to deserve it; there are no secrets. We have to be superior.”

TURIN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 11: Samuel Mbangula of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off first leg match between Juventus and PSV at Allianz Stadium on February 11, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Motta stressed that the Bianconeri will need to stay ‘compact’ and apply intense pressure to complicate things for Feyenoord, but he is fully confident that his side will continue to show the same ‘attitude’ and ‘commitment,’ which he believes they have never lacked.

“In football, you have to do everything and think,” Motta continued.

“It will be important to use our heads well. We need to be a compact team to be superior to our opponent. We have to hope that our team is at its best in all aspects. We want to do our best to deserve the qualification for the round-of-16.

“We need to press them really hard up front because when we leave spaces, they play very well.

“They are used to attacking with many players. We need to use the ball well with quality and intensity to create goal-scoring chances and finish them properly.

“For sure, this team has never failed in commitment, attitude, and desire to do well. The team has never failed here, and I’m convinced it will be like that until the last day.

“There are guys who work seriously, at their best. We come from a very good performance, especially in the second half against Inter.

“Tomorrow we face a strong opponent, playing at home. In the first 95 minutes, we were superior and deserved the result. Tomorrow will be the same: we need to deserve it, doing the right things with the ball and without it, interpreting the moments of the game well.”