Juventus coach Motta faces sleepless nights after Atalanta thrashing

Thiago Motta said he and his Juventus players will endure sleepless nights after they were torn apart by Atalanta in a humiliating 4-0 home defeat on Sunday.

Juventus’s five-game winning streak in Serie A came crashing to a halt as Mateo Retegui, Marten de Roon, Davide Zappacosta and Ademola Lookman scored for Atalanta.

It was Juventus’ heaviest home defeat in Serie A since losing by the same scoreline to neighbours Torino in October 1967, and their first home league loss in 13 months.

The Bianconeri remain nine points off leaders Inter in fourth place and face a battle to ensure Champions League qualification for next season.

“Atalanta deserved to win and we knew our opponents’ gameplan,” Motta told reporters.

“Today we are disappointed and it will be difficult to sleep. Everything can influence us, because we are Juventus.

“The fans, like the press, have the right to think what they want. The facts say that we are in this position.

“But this team has an enormous margin for growth. After the first goal we suffered a lot. We are quite disappointed and now we have to start thinking about the next game.”

A night to remember for Atalanta! #JuveAtalanta pic.twitter.com/Gp0c996EXk

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) March 9, 2025

Despite the humbling nature of Sunday’s loss, Motta said last month’s 4-2 penalty shoot-out defeat to Empoli in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals was more painful.

“It is a defeat we do not like, but I do not put it on the same level as the defeat to Empoli,” he said.

“They are different situations. We needed to keep our balance and we didn’t do that, but it’s partly down to a lack of experience in the side.”

Juventus return to action at Fiorentina next Sunday, but they could drop out of the top four on Monday when fifth-placed Lazio host Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico.