Thiago Motta describes Milan draw as ‘positive point’ for Juventus, explains striker choice | OneFootball

Juventus coach Thiago Motta sees the glass half full following the cagey stalemate against Milan at San Siro.

Neither side managed to impress in a forgettable affair that hardly witnessed any chances on either end of the pitch, with each manager relying on four natural central midfielders in their starting lineups.

Nevertheless, Motta insists the draw was a good result for his team, especially considering the circumstances.

“It’s a very positive point, I also said so it in the locker room,” noted the 42-year-old in his post-match press conference via TuttoJuve.

“Regardless of who plays, you can see a united team. The players leave personal objectives aside to help the team in all phases of the game.

“I trust my players a lot. Especially in difficult moments, they all help each other out. Milan are very tough to face in the open field, but we played a great game.”

Motta also provided some updates on the conditions of some of his injured players, revealing that Dusan Vlahovic’s return is imminent, while Nico Gonzalez requires a bit more time on the sidelines.

“We will recover Vlahovic in the coming days, and then we will see Nico in the upcoming matches. We cannot know what would have happened if they had been there today.”

While some observers felt Teun Koopmeiners was the one leading the lineup in the absence of a genuine striker, the Juventus coach revealed it was in fact Weston McKennie occupying the striker role.

“McKennie was the fake centre-forward, then I brought on Fagioli in the second half. Everyone did a great job. The changes were to give energy, countering Milan’s strongest side [the left flank].”

Motta was seen hand gesturing to the referee on several occasions, suggesting that Milan players (especially) were diving. Nevertheless, he feels that these incidents are part of the game, recalling Francisco Conceicao’s controversial dismissal against Cagliari.

“No, I don’t want to comment on it. Leao is a great player. I express what I think on the pitch, I also said it when I was disadvantaged by the red card on Coincecao.

“I don’t want to create controversy. I think it’s difficult for everyone. I understand the referee and the linesman. It’s not an easy job when you have to make quick calls with 80 thousand people whistling at you. I have nothing against the player.”