JUVENTUS DEFENDER GIORGIO Chiellini admits he does not expect to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring in this evening’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The Real Madrid forward has scored 12 goals in his eight appearances in the competition this season and has been on the scoresheet at least once in every match since last year’s final.
Chiellini thinks it is safe to assume the 33-year-old will find the net against any team, but he hopes the fine margins of Juve’s clash with the holders in Turin will favour the Italians.
“Ronaldo will always score against everyone,” said Chiellini. “Real are more than just him but, over the years, he has played amazingly well and made the difference.
“Thinking about stopping him is presumptuous, it will also take luck. The difference between winning and losing will be marginal.”
Juve met Madrid in last season’s final in Cardiff, where they suffered a 4-1 defeat, with Ronaldo scoring twice.
Chiellini insists his side are not motivated by revenge, though, and is confident they can achieve a more favourable result over a two-legged tie.
“The tie will be different from Cardiff as you play two games, not one,” he said. ”The personnel has changed a bit here, while most of their squad is still the same.
We have to keep calm and show our quality. We will have to be aware as Real are able to make you think you are in the ascendency, but they can then hurt you quickly.
“There is a lot of respect for Real Madrid, but it doesn’t mean we can’t beat them. Revenge will not be on our minds. We have positive and negative memories of Cardiff, along with everyone else.
“If you want to reach the Champions League final, you have to play the big teams like Real Madrid. Apart from the match in Cardiff, we also have good memories of playing Real and playing against the best teams always gives you a great incentive.”
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€20 million ? Sounds like a bargain based on current world transfer fees but it shows how inflated the market has become. If he was to possibly court a move to the uk it would probably cost a similar fee to go to the 1st division.
@Keith Synnott: or how poor the serie a has become.
@Keith Synnott: clubs can only pay what they can afford and the TV money is nowhere near English football in Italy, plus a fee would have been agreed prior to his loan last season
Who?
@John O Reilly: Matteo Politano
@ScewMadd: thanks so much