Juventus must put their focus on Lyon and nothing else

Juventus have stumbled to close the Serie A season, but all that matters is how they perform on Friday night.

Facing a 1-0 deficit and the need to score multiple goals at the Allianz Stadium on Friday night to advance, Juventus cannot dwell on their recent struggles. Yes, they have been horrible lately, finishing the Serie A season with a 3-1 loss to AS Roma.

However, Juve weren’t exactly focusing on the results. At that point, they had their ninth straight Scudetto sewn up, so they were cruising. You’d like for the players to focus and play at the highest professional level even when the title is essentially won, but players cannot control their mentality in this way every time.

Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, who was in the Capocannoniere race with Ciro Immobile, nobody else really had anything to play for. No, that is no excuse for the woeful performances, but it is an important explanation. Because it offers context to why Juventus have played so abysmally in recent weeks.

Daniele Rugani won’t start against Lyon on Friday night at the Allianz Stadium in the Champions League Round of 16’s second leg. That is a major relief and an immediate boost to a defense that is indeed solid with Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt in front of the world-class Wojciech Szczesny. And Szczesny has more than held up his end of the bargain lately.

With Cristiano Ronaldo, anything is possible. The equation becomes more difficult if neither Douglas Costa nor Paulo Dybala can play against Lyon due to injuries, but Ronaldo alone is a difference-maker in any Champions League tie.

Juventus have not been at their best recently, but all those struggles and dropped points are irrelevant when the lights come on against Lyon. There is no doubt that Lyon are dangerous. Any team that can hold PSG to a clean sheet for 120 minutes and come within one penalty of defeating them in a cup final is dangerous. After all, they even beat Juve in a full 90 minutes.

But the Bianconeri are winners of nine straight Scudetti for a reason. They are tried and true. Juve hold themselves to a high standard when it matters most. And rest assured, they can get the job done against Lyon, troubles of the last few weeks included. Even if that means riding Cristiano’s finishing touch and penalties with a defensive display behind him, all that matters is the Bianconeri stay focused and get the win.