Monaco were offered the oxygen of hope before their attempts at climbing what appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle in Turin.
Trailing by two away goals and with a mountain of history against them, the Ligue 1 leaders were exuding a relaxed confidence as they focused on their daunting task in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
“We have to stay confident, try to play our game and put on a good performance and if we score at the start of the game maybe that could change things,” the Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim said.
“We will have to attack with our minds free of bad thoughts. In the first leg we had the same number of shots on goal as Juve, but they were more clinical. Obviously they are more mature than we are but we lost because we didn’t make the most of our chances. We want to keep our dream alive: our objective is to reach the final. I’m very proud of my players and what they have done so far, regardless of Tuesday’s result.”
Monaco’s tax haven, however, may seem a long way away when they face an opponent shaped by the hard currency of results. Juventus are heading for their sixth successive Serie A title and produced an utterly clinical display in the first leg.
In contrast Monaco have never won a game in Italy and, after Gonzalo Higuaín’s two goals at the Stade Louis II last week, Juventus can afford to do what comes naturally – they have conceded just twice en route to the semi-finals.
The Juventus coach Max Allegri was certainly giving nothing away before kick‑off. “We’re playing against Monaco and we still have to qualify for the final,” he said. “We have to win in order to get to Cardiff. Monaco have nothing to lose, they have players that can cause great difficulties. What must Juve do tomorrow? Play an aggressive game, play well technically and even better than we did in Monaco, where we were often wrong, with more patience. Still, we’re in a beautiful spell. We’re in full swing. We still have to win the Scudetto, so we’ll think about getting to the final in Cardiff first and then Roma.”
Juve have no new injury concerns and Sami Khedira is available again after missing the first leg through suspension. He will compete for a midfield spot with Claudio Marchisio and Miralem Pjanic. Monaco still have a doubt over their left‑back Benjamin Mendy.
