Juventus were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the knockout Champions League fixture but that has not diminished the hopes of record signing, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 34-year-old who has claimed the title 5 times in his career and is invariably experienced against this particular Madrid side told Juventus TV, “We didn’t expect to lose the first leg 2-0, but anything can happen, and we want to give a great response in our home, in front of our fans.”
“These are the great nights, the fantastic ones: the Champions League nights. The team is confident of playing a great game and I am too. To the fans, I say: think positive, let’s believe. Get ready to come back!”
Ronaldo arrived at Turin for €100m last summer and is already leading the club’s scoring list with 19 goals in the Serie A. He has been the top goal scorer in the Champions League for the past 6 seasons as well.
Signing him for such a massive sum was primarily to push the Bianconeri’s hopes of clinching the ultimate European prize, something which have eluded them for the past 26 years.
It was Ronaldo’s fabulous overhead kick that knocked the Serie A giants out of the Champions League last season. However, with the Portuguese international now at their side, Juventus want to capitalise on the opportunity by mounting a comeback against Diego Simeone’s men.
In no sense will this be an easy task, since Atletico are known in the footballing sphere for being astute at defending leads. We just have to wait till Tuesday night if the 5-time Balon d’Or winner will be able to assert his dominance over this Madrid side yet again.
See Also: Ronaldo is not everything at Juventus, says Allegri
