Motta and Locatelli different views on Juventus’ Champions League exit | OneFootball

Thiago Motta and Manuel Locatelli had different views on the Juventus performance that led to the Champions League exit against PSV, as the coach argued it was not true that the Dutch side showed more desire than the Bianconeri.

Juventus became the fourth Serie A club to be eliminated from the Champions League this season after a 3-1 loss to PSV on Wednesday.

The Bianconeri captain, Locatelli, was critical of the team’s performance and attitude and told Prime Video Italia that PSV wanted the qualification ‘more’ than Juventus.

Motta disagreement with Locatelli after Juventus’ Champions League exit

TURIN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 16: Thiago Motta, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and FC Internazionale at on February 16, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Motta was asked whether PSV showed more desire than his players, but the ex-Italy international disagreed: “No, I disagree that they wanted it more. I disagree completely. In some moments of the game, they pushed more and were superior in certain situations,” he said.

“We also created, when Dusan hit the post. It was an open game where the result went in their favour.”

Locatelli also said Juventus “wasted” the qualification, but yet again, Motta had a different opinion: “I must hear what he said. We didn’t throw anything away. We tried, from minute one till the end, to overcome the opponent, but in the end, we were unable to be better than them, and they deserved to qualify for the Round of 16.”

Juventus had beaten PSV 2-1 in the first leg, but Wednesday’s loss meant the Bianconeri were eliminated with a 4-3 aggregate defeat.

Juventus sit fourth in the Serie A table, level on points with Lazio. Their next game is away at Cagliari on Sunday.