"We are sorry and angry," admitted an ashen-faced Massimiliano Allegri after a dreadful 4-3 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon put an end to his side's hopes of advancing to the last 16 of the Champions League.  

When the Juventus coach, distressed, barely believing, offered an apologetic hand to the heartbroken fans packed at the far end of the Estadio da Luz, the cold reality that they had missed out on the knockout rounds for the first time in nine years had not really sunk in yet. 

One of the world's most decorated powerhouse, Juventus were accustomed to flying the flag for Italian football and have reached the Champions League final nine times, but another embarrassing defeat in Europe and an early elimination underlined just how far the giants have fallen.

Starting the day five points behind their opponents Benfica, Juventus needed a morale-boosting performance to keep their chances of survival alive, but inexplicably conceded three cheap goals during the first half of a match for the first time in the club's Champions League history. 

In a thrilling goal-fest, Allegri's side were 4-1 down before the hour mark. They threatened to pull off an extraordinary comeback by scoring two goals after English youngster Samuel Iling Jr came off the bench to add much-needed impetus in the attacking third. But unfortunately, it came too late. 

Juventus have now lost four of their five matches in the group stage, and Allegri insisted their fate was all but sealed before their trip to Portugal. "The elimination did not come today, but in the previous games," he said. "We would not want these things to happen, but these evenings happen, defeats happen."

After the final whistle, most of Juventus players could not bring themselves to face their fans, who traveled all the way from Italy only to witness their team make unwanted pieces of history.  

They could not even find consolation in the domestic league. Juventus currently just sit eighth in Serie A, a massive 10 points behind leaders Napoli after an underwhelming start to the season. However, Allegri remains defiant.  

"Failure? No. It must be an opportunity to dive back into the championship," he said. "You fall to get back up. I would have liked to have played the last game with Paris Saint-Germain to force Benfica out. The reality is this, let's focus on the future.  

"We have to react, we have a championship to play, there is a Europa League to win. It will not be easy, there are players to recover. From tomorrow, we just need to get back to work. 

"In the league we have four games before the World Cup break. We have to recover our energy, and with the players I have available we must do well."

Given the shoddy state of Juventus, nobody should be surprised that they were outclassed, outsmarted and outplayed by an aggressive Benfica side, who are now unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions this season. There are mitigating factors in their current struggles as several key players, including midfield maestro Paul Pogba, are sidelined due to injury.

However, there is shame in letting things slip to this point and there is a very real possibility that things will get even worse before they get better for the Italian behemoth.

Defeat to Benfica serves as a grim reminder that Juventus, despite their considerable prestige and deep pockets, still have a long way to go before being restored to their former glory.