Thiago Motta praised Juventus because they kept them cool while they were patiently waiting for an opener in their late home victory against Hellas Verona in Serie A on Monday.
Juventus achieved a 2-0 victory thanks to late goals from Khephren Thuram and Teun Koopmeiners, who have dominated the game everywhere.
They shot 27 shot to the five of Verona, with 12 of those in the first half, more than they tried in the first period of another Serie Agame this campaign.
Only two teams had more shots in the first 45 minutes without scoring a goal in 2024-25: Monza (16 against Udinese on match day 15) and Napoli (15 against Lecce on competition day nine).
“The way we reached the three points was important and it was not easy,” Motta told Dazn.
“Being calm means waiting and playing football. It's not easy because after the [Coppa Italia] Elimination The atmosphere was specific, and you could have an extra desire and fear of doing things.
“If so, you leave counterattacks and instead we have not given our opponents that chance.
“In the second half we could have scored even more than the two goals. The boys deserved it and have a lot of quality.”
Teun Koopmeiners sealed Juventus' victory over Verona #juveverona pic.twitter.com/jp5gsofwmr
– Lega Serie A (@Seriea_en) March 4, 2025
Juve suffered a shock Coppa Italia exit last week when they were defeated 4-2 on penalties by Empoli in the quarterfinals of the competition after a 1-1 draw.
“In the last match we are wrong in the first half, but we are always demanding with ourselves, we want to do it better and that is the secret,” Motta said.
“We have to look for something to improve every day. Today we have had a great achievement, but that is part of the past.”
The Bianceri coach had encouraging words for goal scorer Koopmeiners, who since the beginning of December found the back of the net for the first time.
“Koopmeers did well and I am very happy for him, he is a special man,” Motta added.
“He has a big mentality, it is a privilege for us to have him. He must be convinced, be confident and accept criticism. He is doing well and he will give us a lot.”
Dutch International, who came to Juve from Atalanta in August for a reported reimbursement of € 55 million, only scored his second Serie A goal for Turin's side.
The fourth placed Juventus-Gastheer Atalanta, who is third on Sunday, with three points that separate the sides.
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