Thiago Motta said a series of defensive errors led to Juventus' first Serie A defeat of the season after falling in a 2-1 loss to Napoli on Saturday.
Motta looked up as on-Loan Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani's first goal for the club was canceled out by strikes from Frank Anguisissa and Romelu Lukaku.
Juventus have now dropped 17 points from a winning position in Serie A this term, but conceded more in a single season in the Italian top flight in 2019-2020 (21).
The defeat also marked the first time Juventus had lost in Serie A since a 1-0 defeat to Lazio in March 2024, ending their 29-game unbeaten run in the competition.
Despite making it this far into the campaign, the Bianconeri have only collected 37 points from their 22 games, leaving them fifth in the table.
Only under Luigi Delneri in 2010-11 (35) have Juventus collected fewer points at this stage of a season, although Motta said Napoli were not involved in European football this season in their victory.
'I am disappointed with the defeat. We had a good first half, causing our opponents a lot of problems, a side that is not at the top of the table as a fluke because they have a great coach and had the opportunity to prepare all week for this,” Motta told Dazn .
“We didn't have that luxury though, and it showed because all the good work we did in the first half, we struggled to replicate in the second and that's why we couldn't win.”
The result was made even more frustrating for Juventus after dominating the opening period at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Motta's side recorded an expected goals (XG) total of 0.78 from their five shots compared to Napoli's miester 0.16 from their four attempts in Michele Di Gregorio's goal in the first half.
Kolo Muani's goal was the reward their dominance in the opening stages deserved, but the Frenchman acknowledged the difficulty of taking Napoli away from home.
“We responded well in many other situations, we just didn't do it today. Juve haven't won here since 2019, it's important to point out,” Kolo Muani said.
“It's the sixth consecutive defeat for the club here, so apparently that's a tough spot for us,” he said.
Kolo Muani's goal made him the first Juventus player to score in Serie A with his first shot in the competition since Samuel Mbangula against Como on 19 August.
He is also the first French striker to score for Juventus in Serie A since David Trezeguet (December 2009 against Bari).
Motta added that Juventus' downfall was all of their own making and highlighted their poor play in possession as the key to their defeat.
“The idea was to press and defend well, but we couldn't do that because our quality was lacking and when we started giving the ball away, Napoli tended to win the duels and that gave them an advantage,” concluded Motta.
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