Juventus chief coach Thiago Motta was ashamed after his side in the quarterfinals at home from the Coppa Italia was beaten to Empoli on penalties.
The visitors took the lead with a brilliant goal of Youssef Maleh in the first half, with the performance level of Juventus well below par. While Khephren Thuram was right in the second half, they were eventually beaten 4-2 after a penalty shootout.
In his press conference after the game, Motta focused on his players.
“Shame. I feel shame for what we have seen in the first half and I hope my players feel the same,” he said.
“The attitude was embarrassing. Maybe I was wrong because I did not let the players understand the importance of this game and the importance of wearing the Juventus shirt. We made a mistake and that is why we are not in the semi-final.”
Thuram's Equalizer came after an impressive piece of skill, but eventually counted for nothing after Dusan Vlahovic missed a chance to win the game in normal times and then missed the opening sentence.
Kenan Yildiz later saw his spot kick saved by Empoli goalkeeper Devis Vasquez, so Luca Marianucci secured a historic victory for the visitors.
Full -time at the Allianz Stadium. #Juveempoli #coppaitaliafrecciarossa pic.twitter.com/wkzrffvtyx
– JuventusFC (@Juventusfcen) 26 February 2025
“Now we have to start again, give everything in training, give everything to each other and respect the place and history in which you are,” said Motta, in which he encouraged his players to concentrate again.
Empoli was promoted from the B after winning the title in 2021 and for the first time since 2006-07 reached the Coppa Italia semi-final, where they will be confronted with Bologna.
Their shape in the cup is at odds with their competition record, where they gone 11 straight matches without a victory and recently 5-0 were defeated by Atalanta. They had previously eliminated Fiorentina on penalties in the last 16 after a 2-1 victory over Torino in the second round.
The other semi -final will be a different edition of the Della Madonnina derby as Inter Face AC Milan.
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