Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli tried to explain how his team ended up conceding four goals at home against Atalanta.
The Bianconeri suffered a humiliating defeat at the Allianz Stadium that all but ended their already-slim hopes of clinching the Scudetto title, bringing everyone at the club back to the bleak reality.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men dominated the action from start to finish, and would have left Turin with more goals in the bag if it wasn’t for Michele Di Gregorio and his string of superb saves.
After the contest, Locatelli took it upon himself to show up in front of the media. The midfielder explains how the penalty incident pegged them back, while conceding the second right after the restart was a mental blow they failed to digest.
“We played a good game until the penalty, then we conceded the opener and they had other chances,” said the captain in his post-match interview with Rai via IlBianconero.
“We conceded a goal right away at the start of the second half and that cut our legs off. We tried to react, we went forward unbalanced and that caused us to suffer many counterattacks and when they counterattack they are deadly.
“We made many mistakes in the buildup, many misplaced passes and I repeat, when they counterattack they are really strong and can score a lot of goals.”
Nevertheless, Locatelli urges his teammates to remain united in the face of the storm and avert from reading the rumours and chastising in the media.
“You [the journalists] were the ones who talked about this dream [the Scudetto], while we must always maintain a balance among ourselves. If we hear all the things you say, we won’t get to the bottom of it.
“We have the task of forming a group among ourselves and trying to protect ourselves from this too and we just have to work and try to give our all for this shirt. We have to roll up our sleeves and get back to work, because that’s the only thing we can do.”
Finally, Locatelli acknowledged the fans have the right to express themselves in any way they desire after such a torrid display.
“They have the right to express themselves. They always expect great performances from us and only we can change this. We have to change this atmosphere with attitude and results. We have to reassure the younger ones and try to have balance.”
