Judgment day. For Juventus, the long-awaited and feared time has come to move in or out of Europe: a sort of point of no return, which will almost completely direct the entire season. This is the opinion of the vast majority of the black and white people and also the club, albeit in silence, thinks on the same wavelength.
The eighth consecutive championship is worth it, God forbid, but it is clear that certain summer investments (above all Ronaldo) have been made to aim for the Champions League, or at least to get close to it. Stopping in the round of XNUMX, albeit against a high-level opponent like Atletico Madrid, would instead represent the worst result of the last three years and would force the team into a totally stimulus-free season finale, with all the controversies that would ensue. In short, qualifying for the quarterfinals is definitely more of a necessity than a dream, but it will take a real feat to achieve it.
Overturning a 0-2 draw in the Champions League is always difficult, let alone if you are up against a tough nut to crack like Simeone's Atletico, who make the defensive phase their flagship, moreover without disdaining very insidious counterattacks with the various Griezmanns, Morata etc etc. Allegri knows that the mission is difficult and for this very reason he has tried in every way to reduce its importance, repeatedly underlining how the eighth consecutive championship (his fifth) is already practically on the bulletin board.
However, the attempt, for the reasons mentioned above, foundered in the face of pressure from the press and fans, so much so that he unsubscribed from social media and slammed anyone who mentioned the word "failure" to him. But now the time for chatter is over and the field will issue its unquestionable judgment. The comeback provides for an almost perfect match: in fact, to pass, you need a 3-goal difference or, alternatively, a 2-0 which would lead to extra time and then, possibly, penalties. Difficult, of course, but not impossible if you have players of the caliber of Ronaldo in your squad, especially to mention the most famous.
“It will take a company but the team is fine, we are ready – Allegri explained in the press conference – We will play in a different way than in Madrid, but we can do it by giving our all. It will be a great match, overturning the result would be extraordinary. There will be a lot of need for the whole stadium because it will be a beautiful evening anyway. We'll have to play an intelligent match because Atletico Madrid will be looking for the goal to close the qualification round. We will have to do 95 minutes with the right head and the right technique”.
The Juventus coach, along the lines of past seasons, decided to play the most important match with some surprise moves: this was the case in 2015, when he opted for the 4-3-1-2 with Vidal behind the strikers, and in 2017 , with the transition to 4-2-3-1 which involved the simultaneous use of Mandzukic, Dybala, Cuadrado and Higuain. This time "the cheerful" will be a 3-5-2 with Szczesny in goal, Caceres, Bonucci and Chiellini in defense, Bernardeschi, Emre Can, Pjanic, Matuidi and Cancelo in midfield, Ronaldo and Mandzukic in attack.
Nothing to do instead for Douglas Costa, whose recovery attempt was wrecked in yesterday's training, Khedira, Cuadrado, Barzagli, De Sciglio and the suspended Alex Sandro, who will watch the match in the packed stands of the Stadium.
Heavy absences, which are paired however with those of Simeone, forced to give up Diego Costa, Thomas, Lucas Hernandez and Filipe Luis. But Cholo starts from a two-goal lead and it's safe to bet that they will do everything to optimize them to the fullest, without however giving up on their legendary counter-attacks.
"We are energized and ready to play the second part of a match against a great team, Juventus - his comment in the press room - We are not the favorites after the 2-0 in the first leg, it makes no sense to feel like we are at these levels ”.
His Atletico, on the other hand, shouldn't reserve training surprises, relying on the well-tested 4-4-2 with Oblak between the posts, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin and Arias in the back, Saul, Koke, Rodrigo and Lemar in the midfield, behind the pair offensive composed of Griezmann and the former Morata. Packed stadium and, for once, ready to cheer: the dispute against the club, the daughter of non-football issues, will be set aside in the name of a greater good called the Champions League. Because the Juve world, for that, is really willing to do anything.
