Juventus fans hadn’t seen a defeat like this at home for nearly 60 years.

The Old Lady, themselves not old anymore with Thiago Motta’s side possessing one of the youngest squads in the league, were made to look as such by a vibrant, energised Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium.

Not since a 4-0 Derby della Mole defeat to Torino in October 1967 had Juve been embarrassed this much at home, and in truth it could’ve been more.

If not for the reflexes of goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio and the woodwork, the score line would’ve been much worse.

Juve’s performance, which started brightly in the opening exchanges but went downhill soon after Mateo Retegui’s penalty was tucked home, was epitomised best by Dusan Vlahovic’s unfortunate slip near the halfway line.

Vlahovic was on as a substitute, and in an attempt to switch the play out to the wing, slipped and inadvertently pushed the ball back towards his own goal and into the feet of the unforgiving Ademola Lookman, who made the win comprehensive with a decent finish.

At that point the score line was immaterial, as Juve were already 3-0 down, but Vlahovic’s slip in a way represents everything wrong with the current version of Juve: unsteady, unsure, unreliable.

The home side’s only real chance of the evening fell to Khephren Thuram, who fired over from the edge of the area after skipping past Berat Djimsiti.

And that was as good as it got.

Martin De Roon, Davide Zappacosta and Lookman sealed an emphatic win for La Dea in Turin, but it wasn’t just the end result that concerned Juve fans, amid boos around the ground for several players and the management, it was the manner of the defeat.

Juventus simply don’t look like a coached team. Sure, Atalanta have the benefit of years under Gian Piero Gasperini, but even new recruits arrive in Bergamo and within a few months demonstrate how to thrive within Gasperini’s particular way of playing.

Italy’s biggest club are nine months into the Thiago Motta project, and it’s difficult to see where the development is. There’s no tactical shape, no patterns of play, little in the way of tangible progress on the field.

“We’re a young team. We lost our composure,” Motta said in his post-game interview. This is undoubtedly true, but the question needs to be asked, isn’t it Motta’s job to give players composure from the touchline? To transmit calm and refocus his players?

There is a clear lack of experience running right the way through this Juve side. Only Parma’s starting XI have a younger average age this season, and this reaffirms Motta’s argument about a lack of composure.

The experienced players, like Danilo and Alex Sandro, were discarded in order for the youth movement. And while their contributions on the pitch were diminishing in terms of standout performances, they both knew what it meant to play for Juve and should’ve been kept around to offer vital experience.

On the flip side, you could say the only way to gain experience is by going through tough times, but will Motta be there to benefit from continually playing young players at the expense of experience? It’s highly unlikely.

Any lingering title chance, which most didn’t believe in for a second regardless, went up in flames on a wet night in Turin. Meaning Juve will now end this season trophy-less and even fourth place, the bare minimum objective, is at risk with Lazio close by.

There were chants for Max Allegri from the stands midway through the game, while post-game rumours have intensified that Motta’s future is more under threat than ever. 

The truth is he won’t be sacked in the final few months of the season, barring a complete collapse, as this normally isn’t Juve’s style. The likes of Gasperini, Antonio Conte and Roberto De Zerbi are all being linked.

There appears to be a disconnect between Motta and his players. In the wake of the embarrassing defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League playoff, Motta and Manuel Locatelli said contrasting things post-game. 

Locatelli claimed the Dutch side wanted it more; Motta, upon learning what the midfielder said, openly disagreed with the assessment. Some reports have suggested several players don’t like working under Motta and some have questioned his lack of empathy yet realise he has the potential to be a great coach — in the future.

The lack of leadership on the pitch is what’s harming Juventus, more than tactics or any anything else. When things are going wrong on the field, as was the case against Atalanta, the lack of an older, wiser head to calm things down was absent. 

A decade ago, the club was filled with ‘senators’ and had an experienced coach to handle tricky situations. Present day Juventus has an inexperienced coach leading inexperienced players. 

Motta was schooled by his old coach Gasperini in Turin. How he and his players react in their next game, against Fiorentina in Florence, could be either the breaking, or making, of his Juve.