Locatelli takes responsibility for Juventus defeat to Milan | OneFootball

Manuel Locatelli took responsibility for the Juventus collapse against Milan, as he gave away the penalty, but also admits the team ‘lacks maturity’ to see games out.

The Bianconeri had looked in complete control in Riyadh for the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final, taking the early lead through a Kenan Yildiz scorcher into the near top corner.

However, after Locatelli brought down Christian Pulisic for the penalty, Juve crumbled and within four minutes were losing 2-1 as Federico Gatti deflected a Yunus Musah cross past Michele Di Gregorio.

“I made a mistake that was decisive, because I didn’t see Pulisic coming. That gave Milan hope and we did not have the strength to react, so we threw away a game that we had in our grasp,” Locatelli told Sport Mediaset.

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The Italian media is pointing to the moment Thiago Motta decided to take striker Dusan Vlahovic off at the 65th minute as another turning point, sending a message to Juventus that perhaps they were not going to score a second goal.

“I am sure you will analyse these things, but all I can do is analyse what we did on the pitch and that starts with my mistake,” insisted Locatelli, who was the captain this evening.

Locatelli admits Juventus have a problem

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 03: Michele Di Gregorio of Juventus fails to make a save as Christian Pulisic of AC Milan scores his team’s first goal from a penalty kick during the Italian Super Cup Semi-Final match between AC Milan and Juventus at Al Awwal Park on January 03, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

Juventus also seemed to be in control against Fiorentina in Serie A last week only to crumble for a 2-2 draw, so is this repeated pattern a sign of a deeper problem?

“I do think we lack that maturity to control the game, but above all to get the second goal and kill off the match. It’s part of a process, we don’t have much time to learn and make mistakes, so we’ve got to speed it up.

“We had belief that we would win it, but this is football and we need to move on.”

Milan will face Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana Final in Riyadh on Monday evening, kicking off at 19.00 GMT.

Juventus and Atalanta return home from Saudi Arabia, as their Supercoppa experience is over after losing the semi-finals.