Thiago Motta does not believe Juventus are Serie A title contenders just yet, despite their 4-4 draw with reigning champions Inter.
With Juventus trailing 4-2, teenager Kenan Yildiz came off the bench to score twice and rescue a point in dramatic fashion.
It is the third time in the history of these sides that they have shared an eight-goal Serie A clash, though this was the first such occasion since 1961.
While Juve hit back from a two-goal deficit to avoid defeat against Inter in a league game for the first time since 1978, Motta believes the way the Nerazzurri dominated much of the proceedings shows how far his side away are from challenging for the Scudetto.
"Not at this moment. We delivered a solid performance against one of the favourites for the Scudetto, alongside Napoli, who have maintained the core of their squad from a year and a half ago," Motta told DAZN.
"Right now, they’re ahead and capable of competing until the end for the title. While today was a good performance, we need to keep our feet on the ground.
"We’ll continue on our path, sticking to our ideas and our growth process. We’ll see what we’re capable of when the time comes. I’m being honest; I speak as things are.
"We sought something more in terms of both play and the right spirit; we wanted a different outcome after a first half filled with unfortunate incidents.
"They could have increased their lead but didn’t, and in the end, we could have won it. However, we need to understand why we perform well at times and struggle against the opponent's game at others."
Timothy Weah started in place of Yildiz, and scored in the first half, netting against Inter 25 years and three days after his father George had last scored a league goal against the Nerazzurri.
"I chose Weah because he could offer something interesting for us in transitions. Kenan can help the team in the second half by providing different options, whether as a winger, midfielder, or striker," Motta said.
"We know we have young players, but we believe we can perform much better than we did today. It's clear that the many absences may have had an impact; it’s not an excuse, but a fact."
Indeed, Juve fielded their youngest starting XI (25 years, 212 days on average) against Inter in Serie A in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95).
LAFC edge out Vancouver as Orlando take the advantage against Charlotte
Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera were on target as Los Angeles FC edged out the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Sunday.
LAFC, the 2022 MLS Cup champions, will book their place in the next round should they win north of the border next week.
Ryan Gauld netted in the 94th minute for the Whitecaps, but it was too little, too late for the Canadian side, who hammered the Portland Timbers in the wildcard round.
LAFC have now won seven straight playoff games against Western Conference opponents, while Bouanga has netted eight goals in nine postseason appearances.
Hugo Lloris, however, says LAFC must sharpen up.
"The performance is not [good] enough, but we got the result so that's the most important thing," Lloris said.
"We need to increase [our levels] if we want to have ambition. A win is a win, so that's positive, but there were things we need to fix if we are to improve."
Elsewhere, Orlando City also made a winning start to their playoff campaign as they beat Charlotte FC 2-0.
Facundo Torres put Orlando ahead in the 32nd minute at Inter&Co Stadium, with Martin Ojeda doubling the hosts' tally 14 minutes from time.
A frustrating day for Dean Smith's Charlotte team was compounded when Pep Biel was sent off late on, though they will at least have home advantage when they look to turn the best-of-three series around next time out.
Simeone shoulders responsibility for Atletico defeat
Diego Simeone took full responsibility for Atletico Madrid's disappointing performance after their unbeaten LaLiga run ended with a 1-0 loss at Real Betis on Sunday.
Atleti failed to recover from Jose Maria Gimenez's fourth-minute own goal and wasted the few chances they created in a game riddled with errors that the coach blamed on himself.
Hosts Betis had 24 shots to Atleti's 10, albeit both teams only got three attempts on target.
Simeone, though, accepted Atleti were not up to standard, as his team lost their 24th game in all competitions in 2024, which is their joint-worst total in a calendar year under the Argentine's tutelage.
"I didn't prepare this match well. I am responsible for the plan not working," said Simeone, whose side lost 3-1 to Lille in the Champions League in midweek.
"Starting with myself first, we have work to do and things to improve. I didn't imagine anything different. The new players need to keep adapting, and I need to get more out of their strengths.
"Betis are a competitive team who have improved as they showed today, they outplayed us. We clearly couldn't play our game.
"This happened to us against Lille last week, we fell behind in the game and that didn't allow us to level this game.
"Ultimately, as a coach, I have to resolve these situations first and have a clear idea (of tactics) so that the players can perform in the way I like."
Atleti's first defeat of the season leaves them fourth in the Spanish top flight on 20 points, two clear of Betis and ten behind leaders Barcelona.
They face UE Vic in the Copa del Rey on Thursday before hosting Las Palmas in LaLiga three days later.
Luis Enrique basks in PSG's emphatic Classique win
Luis Enrique hailed a complete performance from his Paris Saint-Germain side following their 3-0 victory over Marseille.
PSG took the game away from Marseille, who had Amine Harit sent off in the 20th minute of Sunday's Ligue 1 contest, with a blistering show of force in the first half.
Joao Neves put PSG ahead early on before an own goal from Leonardo Balerdi and an effort from Bradley Barcola all but put the match to bed prior to the break.
PSG's opener, which came after six minutes and five seconds, was the fastest goal in a Classique clash since Marquinhos netted after five minutes and 34 seconds in 2017.
Marseille have gone five games without scoring against PSG in Ligue 1, equalling their longest drought against the same opponent in the top-flight (Bordeaux between 2000 and 2001, Lille between 2000 and 2002), and Roberto De Zerbi's team never really threatened, having only one shot on target, nine touches in the opposition box and mustering just 0.22 expected goals (xG).
"We started very well from the first minute against an opponent who played well, we kept up the pressure, we had several clear chances," PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
"With the sending-off, the game changed – it was closer and also harder for our opponents, but we continued to work.
"In the second half, it was calmer, we could have scored even more. We dedicate this victory to the fans, we know that it is important for them, it is for us too."
Previous incidents of crowd trouble between the two sets of fans meant the visitors were barred from bringing their supporters with them, but it made little difference as PSG dominated from the off, claiming their 51st win over Marseille in all competitions.
"It's a good feeling, the joy. We always want to win here. To do that in this stadium is a special favour," midfielder Vitinha told DAZN.
"They got the red card early, we scored two goals in a row, it killed the game for them. We could have scored more goals, we'll have to keep creating chances, we need to convert," he continued.
"We're happy, we won this game that has a special flavour."
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