Juventus Vs PSV Eindhoven, Time for Thiago Motta to Release the Pressure

TURIN, MONDAY – Despite bringing in Thiago Motta as a coach, Juventus still hasn’t been able to play an attractive game like they did in Bologna. Motta had the opportunity to release criticism by leading the “Big Lady” to victory over PSV Eindhoven in the first match of the playoff for the last 16 tickets of the European Champions League at the Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy, Wednesday (12/2/2025) at 03.00 WIB.

The arrival of Motta is accompanied by high expectations. The former Paris Saint-Germain player brings fresh ideas of attractive play that have led Bologna to qualify for the Champions League this season. Juventus supporters have high hopes that Motta can replicate his success at Juventus. Moreover, last season, Juventus was associated with the pragmatic playing style of coach Massimiliano Allegri, which tended to be boring.

However, halfway through the season, Motta has yet to elevate Juventus' level of play. In the Italian League, Juventus is the only team to have suffered just one defeat in 24 weeks. Nevertheless, the "Old Lady" is lagging in fifth place due to having more draws (13 times) than wins (10 times).

A similar situation occurs in the Champions League. Juventus has only secured one victory from the last five group stage matches when hosting Manchester City. In the final match, Juventus was defeated 0-2 by Benfica at home.

Motta's attractive play, as dreamed of by Juventus supporters, is still far from reality. Even though Motta has a squad with much more capability compared to when he was coaching Bologna. Undoubtedly, Motta's achievements with Juventus up to the middle of this season are not much better than Allegri's.

Supporters are starting to lose patience with Motta. However, Juventus officials are reportedly still placing their trust in him. Nevertheless, they have also set a minimum target, which is that Motta must at least be able to lead Juventus to qualify for the round of 16.

Now we have an important Champions League game on Tuesday against a team that plays good football.

The minimum target set by the Juventus officials directly adds pressure on Motta. As a result, Motta has no choice but to play offensively against PSV at home. If they can win by a large margin, the second meeting at PSV's home ground will certainly be easier for Juventus.

Fortunately, Motta has a good track record when meeting PSV. The two teams have indeed met in the group stage, in September 2024. At that time, Juventus won convincingly, 3-1, against PSV in Turin.

On the other hand, PSV have a poor record when playing away games in the Champions League. The team coached by Peter Bosz has only managed to win once in four away games, namely when facing Red Star Belgrade.

Motta also received a bigger morale boost with the arrival of striker Randal Kolo Muani from PSG. Despite only just joining the team, Kolo Muani has already won the hearts of Juventus supporters thanks to his impressive performances, scoring five goals in three games.

"Kolo Muani played well. He adapted well to the team from the first day. Now we have an important Champions League game on Tuesday against a team that plays good football," Motta said.

Meanwhile, Bosz considered Juventus very difficult to beat at their home base. Moreover, PSV has not been able to play its mainstay striker, Ricardo Pepi, due to injury. However, he said his team has developed rapidly since the defeat to Juventus.

"We have to be stronger as a team to face this. We have changed our strategy to look for another striker. There is no doubt about that now," Bosz was quoted as saying on the PSV website. (REUTERS)