The 42-year-old, who secured Champions League this season for Bologna by steering them to fifth spot in last term’s Serie A, switched to the Bianconeri in June.
His three-year deal was greeted with enthusiasm, because of his tactical prowess. Yet failing to reach the last 16 of the highly-lucrative Champions League will no doubt raise questions with the club board, supporters and with media pundits.
The two-legged 4-3 aggregate defeat to PSV Eindhoven has cost the club millions in revenue, and there surely will be an inquest at board level.
Former Barcelona boss Xavi was spoken to about becoming the next Juventus manager if Motta was unable to improve team displays and results. He went from zero to hero, with some wily loan signings helping to steer Juve up the Serie A table.
Yet the European stage has been Motta’s failing this season, having stuttered into the second phase of the competition. It means that he can fully concentrate on their involvement in the Coppa Italia and the league.
Here’s how Juventus’ Champions League 2024/25 campaign panned out under Motta.
Juventus 3 PSV Eindhoven 1
They only played four Serie A matches before the visit of PSV in September, but were brimming with confidence as they attacked at every opportunity to record a 3-1 success.
Kenan Yildiz, Nicolas Gonzalez and Weston McKennie found the back of the net with the visitors grabbing a 93rd-minute consolation strike.
RB Leipzig 2 Juventus 3
This momentum continued with a battling 3-2 triumph in early October. A visit to German side RB Leipzig was full of drama. Defender Gleison Bremer came off injured within 10 minutes, which turned out to be a season-ending torn ACL.
Things got worse for the Italian club, gifting an opener on the half-hour mark. Juventus should have levelled matters, only for midfielder Teun Koopmeiners to be denied by the upright. But Dusan Vlahovic came to their rescue with an equaliser shortly after the turnaround.
The Turin team briefly endured heartbreak when ‘keeper Michelle Di Gregorio was sent off on the hour-mark, and five minutes later the Germans slotted home a penalty to regain the lead.
Up popped Vlahovic to nab a late second goal, and summer signing Francisco Conceicao completed the fightback with the winner on 82 minutes.
Juventus 0 VfB Stuttgart 1
Yet the wheels came off for the new and experimental Juventus for a while in October’s European action, when the Bianconeri expected to sweep aside visiting Stuttgart. By underestimating their opponent they paid for it dearly, beaten by the only goal of the game.
Juve were often second to the ball, and were grateful for the exploits of Mattia Perin. The second choice ‘keeper ably dealt with all but one of the German team’s 10 shots on target, conceding two minutes into added time.
Lille 1 Juventus 1
The Bianconeri visited French outfit Lille in early November, and despite dominating in every department they were held to a stalemate.
They conceded midway through the first half, and snatched an equaliser through a 60th-minute Vlahovic spot-kick. This contest highlighted the fact that Juve’s attack was definitely waning.
Aston Villa 0 Juventus 0
A dreary scoreless draw at Aston Villa in late November followed, with injury-hit Juventus taking just 14 players to the English Premier League side.
Big names were sidelined for this contest, with Motta having to do without the likes of Bremer, Juan Cabal, Gonzalez, McKennie and Vlahovic.
The Villains thought they had snatched a last-gasp winner, only for their effort to be ruled out because of a collision with Di Gregorio.
Juventus 2 Manchester City 0
The mid-December visit of Manchester City looked promising for Motta to pick up maximum points. The EPL champions were in the midst of a confidence crisis, and facing the longest winless streak since Pep Guardiola was appointed head coach.
Defensive duo Danilo and Federico Gatti impressed, while the US pairing of Americans McKennie and Timothy Weah ran circles around the visitors.
Vlahovic opened the scoring, with McKennie finding the back of the net in what proved to be a comprehensive triumph. This comprehensive victory got many Juve fans believing that Motta was a tactical genius.
Club Brugge 0 Juventus 0
The epitome of defensiveness was displayed in this stinker of a match. Juve only managed a single shot on target, which was one more than the Belgium champions.
Fiorentina loanee Gonzalez laughably fluffed his chance to slot home, and was compared by pundits on Italian television to both misfiring Koopmeiners and Vlahovic for his failure in attack.
Juventus 0 Benfica 2
The hosts had a patched up defence for the visit of the Portuguese giants. Juve were outmanoeuvred in the opening half, but only conceded on 16 minutes, and booed off at the interval by their own supporters.
After the turnaround Motta’s men pushed forward, with Vlahovic’s inability to polish off any attacks further frustrating the already furious fans. He had five shots but couldn’t produce any of his early season magic, and Juve paid the price by conceding a second goal with 10 minutes remaining.
Lacking conviction and cohesion, the Bianconeri were booed off the pitch at the final whistle with the transfer targeted duo of midfielder Douglas Luiz and Vlahovic ignoring their fans to rush down the players tunnel.
Juventus 2 PSV Eindhoven 1
PSV’s confidence had rocketed since their September defeat in Turin, and coupled with the unforgiving Juve fans things looked grim for Motta’s men ahead of the showdown.
In-form Muani was double man-marked out of the game, leaving Juventus to rely on other players to score. McKennie broke the deadlock on 34 minutes only for former Inter Milan icon Ivan Persic to equalise just before the hour-mark.
Up popped Samuel Mbangula to become Juve’s saviour, bagging the late winner for his first European goal after ‘keeper Walter Benitez fumbled Conceicao’s telling cross.
PSV Eindhoven 3 Juventus 1 (aet)
The Philips Stadion has been an intimidating destination for European opponents, with the Dutch League champions even stunning the seemingly indomitable Liverpool.
It took an extra-time goal on 98 minutes from defender Ryan Flamingo to deliver the knockout blow to Motta’s men, and make it an astonishing 13-match unbeaten home record in major European action.
An insipid first half, which silenced both sets of supporters when the half-time whistle blew, was followed by drama and excitement.
Perisic volleyed in the opener on 53 minutes, his second Champions League goal this month against Juventus. Weah rifled in an equaliser 10 minutes later to restore the Italian’s advantage.
Ismael Saibari forced extra time with his strike on 74 minutes, with Flamingo grabbing a winner to make it four Champions League home victories on the bounce.
Vlahovic came closest to scoring for Juve, but his effort hit the post, and the Bianconeri bowed out with a whimper.