Soccer Football - Champions League - Juventus v VfB Stuttgart - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - October 22, 2024 Juventus coach Thiago Motta reacts REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/ File Photo
(Reuters) - Juventus must build on their strong defensive performance against AC Milan over the weekend when they face Aston Villa in the Champions League, Juve boss Thiago Motta said on Tuesday ahead of the group game against his former coach Unai Emery.
Juve are still unbeaten in Serie A where they drew 0-0 with Milan on Saturday and have the best defensive record in the division, but they have leaked goals in the Champions League where the Italian side are 12th.
On the other hand, Aston Villa started their first Champions League season in over four decades with three victories and currently sit eighth at the halfway mark of the new group stage.
"Tomorrow we will face a great team and we will take the field determined to do our job," Motta told reporters.
"We played well against Milan, controlling the game without giving them the chance to counter-attack.
"Tomorrow we'll play another side very good on the break, so we can't leave space for their attacking midfielders, we have to work together in defence and attack."
Emery coached Motta when they were at Paris St Germain and the Juve coach said he was not surprised by the Spaniard's impact at Villa.
"Like all the coaches I've had, I've tried to improve and learn. Emery is a coach who has been at a high level for a long time. He's showing his worth again at Aston Villa and doing it in a very difficult league," Motta said.
"That's also why we will go into the game with great humility and determined to give a great performance."
Juve are going through an injury crisis, however, with Dusan Vlahovic, Weston McKennie, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal, Gleison Bremer, Vasilije Adzic and Arkadiusz Milik sidelined.
Fixture congestion has been a factor in the increasing number of injuries but Motta refused to use that as an excuse.
"Injuries aren't just happening to us and they're not happening by chance," Motta said.
"At this moment in time it wouldn't be constructive to find the reason behind them. We have to deal with the situation by giving that bit more."
Without Vlahovic up front, Motta said Teun Koopmeiners would probably lead the line while Andrea Cambiaso is also expected to start on the flank.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
