Thrill Juve, today with Villarreal it is a match that is worth the season

The bianconeri want the quarters to forget the disappointments of the last two years It would be the only Italian team in the G8. Allegri: “This is like a final”

TORINO

The ambition to reach the final is not lacking, as well as the fear of stopping in the second round for the third year in a row. It may be for this reason that Massimiliano Allegri invokes “balance and concentration”, in an environment that oscillates between rediscovered pride and ancient fears, on the eve of the match against Villarreal which is worth a season. Not only for him and for Juventus, but also for Italian football clinging to the Bianconeri in this Champions League for ranking reasons (the only team left).

There will be thrills tonight at the Stadium in the challenge where glory, history and money are at stake: Juve must dispel a taboo, given how they came out with Porto and Lyon in the last editions, and to do so they rely on the coach who brought it twice to the final. “I don’t know if this team has the qualities or the maturity to reach Paris – says Allegri -, but we must have the ambition to make it and it must not happen that we leave the competition with the regret of not having done the best”.

The mission is clear and starts from 1-1 in the first leg, even if the away goal rule that would have been useful for Juve for once has been abolished. “This is a final that we play at home – the Juventus coach cuts short, even challenging the cabal – and a winner will come out in the 90 or 120 minutes, or even on penalties”. The Stadium effect, 30 thousand spectators expected, can make the difference compared to the last two returns of the round of 16, when the doors were closed due to Covid. However, a test as robust as it is intelligent will be needed to defuse a team and a coach who know how to excel in knockout challenges and have won the last Europa League. “They are favorites, they were built to win the Champions League, but we want to show that we deserve this place,” comments Emery, Villarreal coach, who won his first of four continental trophies in 2014 with Sevilla at the stadium.

Juve recovers Chiellini, Dybala and Bernardeschi, but except for surprises they will start from the bench and so the team will be almost the same seen in Spain with a 4-4-2 that can turn into 3-5-2. It is the spirit, however, that is different. In these three weeks, self-esteem has grown, in addition to the number of victories (4 consecutive between the championship and the Italian Cup), and in the locker room there is the right concentration to win and pass the round. “We joined as a group and the air is now different after the initial difficulties”, explains Manuel Locatelli, the most present with 38 games played out of 40. In or out in the most intense and precious night, but Allegri asks his team for courage and above all passion. «Now is the time to have fun – he underlines – because there is to play and win even if the ball becomes smaller and heavier. The wait and the tension are to be lived, but a great performance will be needed and, regardless of how the match goes, the public will applaud the players ». –