Ronaldo fired-up for Porto tie

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to return to the starting line-up as Juventus look to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Porto in Turin on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old Portugal forward was only a substitute for Juventus’ 3-1 Serie A win over Lazio on Saturday.

But on Monday, boss Andrea Pirlo said Ronaldo, a five-time Champions League winner, was just being rested.

“Cristiano is fine. These are his matches. He’s fired up,” said Pirlo.

“He’s been able to rest and can’t wait.

“We know the pressure is on us, but we don’t hide. We have what it takes to go through, but we don’t underestimate our opponents. However, we are Juventus and have to think about qualifying.”

Juventus, third in Serie A, were eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2019-20, going out on away goals against French side Lyon.

Pirlo is set to be without Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt, who did not train fully with his team-mates on Monday, although Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini is back in contention.

Porto are aiming to make the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons.

The Portuguese side, second in the Primeira Liga, but 10 points behind leaders Sporting Lisbon, went 2-0 ahead in the first leg thanks to goals from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega, before Federico Chiesa pulled one back in the 82nd minute to give Juventus what could be a valuable away goal.

Boss Sergio Conceicao said his side would not be sitting back, despite holding the advantage.

He said: “Our history in this competition is very rich. We’ve prepared in the best way to get a positive result that, in a club like FC Porto, can only be the victory.

“We’re going to play in the image of who we are as a team and try to win it. We go with everything to get the qualification.”

BBC Online

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Juventus Andrea Pirlo Cristiano Ronaldo Porto

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