Thiago Motta: ‘Valuable point for Juventus against Milan’ | OneFootball

Thiago Motta admits Juventus were not at their best in the 0-0 draw away to Milan, but all things considered it is ‘a valuable point’ and performance.

The Bianconeri came into San Siro forced to completely revamp amid an injury crisis, including Dusan Vlahovic, Arkadiusz Milik and Nico Gonzalez, leaving them with no available strikers.

They used Teun Koopmeiners as an unorthodox False 9 supported by Weston McKennie in the trequartista role, so can consider this 0-0 at San Siro to be a positive result in the circumstances.

“I am satisfied with the work we did defensively against a team that was allowed very little, practically nothing,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.

“Clearly, we created relatively little in attack, but did get into situations that could’ve gone better with Conceicao and Cambiaso getting in behind their defenders.

“I think overall a point is valuable, can give a sense of consistency, and I am glad to see a team that behaves like a big club. I am proud of my players after a good performance in our circumstances.”

Thiago Motta content with Juventus progress

epa11736809 Juventus FC’s defender Federico Gatti in action against AC Milan’s midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek during the Italian Serie A soccer match AC Milan vs Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, 23 November 2024. EPA-EFE/ROBERTO BREGANI

This means Juventus remain unbeaten in Serie A this season and register another clean sheet, but they have now drawn seven of their 13 games and are three points worse off than last season.

“It is inevitable people will make comparisons to last season, but also impossible because so much has changed,” continued Thiago Motta.

“We should be pleased with what we have done so far, but we’re not even halfway through the campaign. Now we need to keep going and improve many elements, knowing we’ve been on the right path for a while.”

Thiago Motta becomes only the fifth Juventus coach in history to avoid losing any of his first 13 Serie A matches in charge.

Director Cristiano Giuntoli said that they were not looking for a new striker in January, so does the coach agree what he saw today will suffice until Arkadiusz Milik returns?

“I am satisfied with what I saw today, because Milan can attack dangerously when spaces open up, so we did well to avoid giving them that for long periods.

“For the next match, we’ll see how we are doing and the characteristics of our opponents. We have alternatives within the squad to do something different.”

Thiago Motta was asked about the performance of Khephren Thuram in the midfield for a 4-2-3-1 formation.

“Khephren has been improving for a while. I don’t like to talk about individuals, but the performance we saw today showed such improvement, mentality and strength, both on and off the ball. He is a player who can become very important and he is growing with such pace.

“I can say that because I know his values and mentality, so I am sure he will have a fantastic career path. Since the first day, he has always been eager to give more and we are the ones who must tell him to calm down, get some rest. This is the kind of player a coach always wants in his squad.”