Juventus seek Cagliari tonic after early Champions League exit

Updated: Feb 22, 2025, 07:26 am

Feb 22 (Reuters) - After being knocked out of the Champions League by PSV Eindhoven in the knockout phase playoffs, Juventus manager Thiago Motta is hoping their Serie A match against Cagliari on Sunday can help his players move on from that disappointment.

Juventus, beaten 3-1 by PSV on Wednesday to lose the tie 4-3 on aggregate, are fourth in the standings with 46 points from 25 matches, 10 behind leaders Napoli.

"After such a disappointment, the best thing is to get on the pitch and play. We know the difficulties and we have to try to win...," Motta told reporters.

"The disappointment is a lot, because we thought we could go to the round of 16. Now we have to start again and think about tomorrow's game. We still have a very busy week and we have to be smart as we always have been."

Italian media reported this week that Motta had addressed the Juventus squad after their Champions League exit and asked for more intensity from the team.

Asked about his discussions with the players, Motta said: "They understand everything, and we give the maximum effort.

"The players are smart and capable; they know what we want. Sometimes, even without a huge difference, the opponent was superior."

Juventus defeated Cagliari 4-0 when the sides last met in a Coppa Italia tie in December, but their last two Serie A meetings have both resulted in draws.

"Many games have passed and we have faced Cagliari both in the league and in the Cup," Motta said.

"It is a very complicated pitch and it has been like that for all the teams, at the same time we have confidence that we can put them in trouble to take the three points and move on."

Motta also praised winger Timothy Weah's adaptation to a more defensive role, with the United States international being forced to play as a right back recently due to a lack of options in defence.

"I see him very well in this role. He defends well, is aggressive and wins a lot of duels," he added.

"He can improve in that role and brings us a lot in the offensive phase," Motta said. "I'm very happy with Timothy, then you can score goals so that's a plus."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India, editing by Ed Osmond)