Motta credits Juve's ability to 'stay in the game' during wild Derby d'Italia draw
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Juventus' first-year manager reacts to his team's eventful 4-4 draw at the San Siro.
It was most certainly an eventful Sunday night at the San Siro. And for Juventus manager Thiago Motta, that meant seeing his team giveaway two first-half penalties, fight back from the first of those PKs to take a 2-1 lead only to go into halftime down 3-2 and then ultimately come back to earn a point in a 4-4 draw against arch-rivals Inter Milan in the first Derby d'Italia of the 2024-25 season.
So how do you process all of that?
Thiago Motta, managing his first game against his former side as Juventus manager, certainly tried to do just that on a night that proved to be just the third time ever the Derby d'Italia had eight goals or more scored.
"It was a game with many complicated situations, but we were able to stay in the game, even after the fourth goal, when it seemed really difficult," Motta said after the final whistle. "We have to analyze in detail, so many things happened and not all of them positive. We can improve on everything, every game is a story in itself, for example today we suffered a lot defensively after having only conceded one goal in the entire league season, and this shows the strength and quality of Inter. On the other side in attack we were always dangerous in a game that was always open with many chances for both teams."
It proved to be the highest-scoring first half ever seen in the history of the Derby d'Italia in Serie A, according to Opta. Juventus fell behind 1-0 before striking for two goals within six minutes, with Weston McKennie and Francisco Conceição setting things up before Inter were awarded a second penalty right before halftime to take a 3-2 lead into the dressing room.
"We have players on that flank in good shape," Motta said, "Andrea Cambiaso who comes from deep, Francisco Conceição who is not easy for anyone to deal with when he runs at you with that pace and quality. Weston McKennie also has this characteristic of throwing himself into spaces at the right moment.
"Inter can attack well, but suffer in defense, and we did more or less the same this evening, causing them problems."
One of the big lineup decisions from Motta involved starting USMNT winger Timothy Weah over Kenan Yildiz on the left. While Yildiz played a huge roll in Juve's second-half comeback with two goals off the bench, it was Weah who gave Juve their only lead of the night with a goal six minutes after Dusan Vlahovic's opener.
"I decided that Weah could give us something important in transitions," Motta said.
Another lineup choice that Motta had to answer for was the one of Danilo starting alongside Pierre Kalulu in the center of Juventus' defense rather than Federico Gatti. It ended up being the second time in less than a week that Juventus' captain gave away a penalty, this time after he attempted to clear the ball but instead made contact with Marcus Thuram in the Juve penalty area.
"They are two completely different players," Motta said of Danilo and Gatti. "Federico has more experience in that role and gave us a lot until now, while Danilo is a bit better at starting moves from the back right now. They have both been able to help Pierre Kalulu in different ways in different games. Gatti brought more defensive solidity, as Danilo was on a yellow card, but they are two players who can also work together.
"We've also got Juan Cabal, who can play there, but I prefer him at left back. It depends on the game, their form and their fitness, because we have a lot of matches coming up and I'm sure those who come on will express themselves in the best way to achieve the results we want."
