Juventus knocked out of Coppa Italia by penalties: "I feel ashamed, I hope my players feel the same"

Huge shock in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, with the elimination of Juventus by Empoli. Juventus, one of the most decorated Italian clubs, fourth in Serie A and with only one defeat so far, was knocked-out by Empoli, the Tuscan team which ranges between first and second division - they won Serie B in 2021. And they lost in front of their fans in Turin.

This year, Juventus seems hit by a "draw" curse: they almost never lose, but draw most times than any other team in Europe, which prevents them from going very far in the charts. Yesterday could have been another 1-1 draw, but in a knockout tournament, there can only be a winner... and it was decided in penalties.

It was so shocking that they apparently didn't expect to win, so they made a "mock up" graph on social media.

Juventus and Empoli coaches react to the Coppa Italia result

Surprisingly, two of Juve biggest stars, Vlahovic and Kenan Yildiz, missed their shots. Thiago Motta, Juventus coach, was furious, and told Mediaset he felt "ashamed". "We played a first half that made me feel ashamed and I hope my players feel the same. We can get everything wrong but not our attitude like this".

He added that there were footballers "who demanded without giving anything", so the scolding in the dressing room must have been huge. "Today on the pitch we gave nothing. We played with the goalkeeper at least 20 times, without taking any responsibility. It's unacceptable. We just need to apologize to the fans, to the club and to the history of this club. We've hit rock bottom", he added (via OneFootball).

Empoli didn't miss: "During the penalties, the lads were calm like veterans, despite there being so many youngsters in the side. It was a difficult moment and I won't lie, I was not expecting this. Taking those penalties with the Juventus ultras was all the more remarkable", said coach Roberto D'Aversa, who told his players to give a response with pride after the 5-0 defeat against Atalanta in league last weekend, and surpassed his expectations.

Other semi-finalists are Bolonia (which knocked Atalanta 1-0 on Tuesday), as well as Inter (defeated Lazio 2-0) and Milan (defeated Roma 3-1), which played their games early February. Semi-finals will take place on April 2 and April 23: Empoli-Bolonia and Milan-Inter.