Juventus will face FC Porto in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday night, facing a 2-1 deficit. But with an away goal thanks to Federico Chiesa, the Bianconeri will like their chances.
They’ll also like their chances for another reason. This weekend, Juve demolished Lazio 3-1 after surviving a rough start to the match, much in the same way they beat Spezia 3-0 after a poor first half. Juve’s wins came amidst a host of injuries, but what made their victory so impressive over Lazio was that they didn’t have Cristiano Ronaldo‘s 20 goals in the starting lineup.
That means Juventus have momentum heading into their next Champions League fixture, and the 36-year-old left forward has something else of his own. Rest.
Ronaldo has four goals and an assist in five Champions League matches, though he was quiet in his favorite competition in the first leg at the Estadio do Dragao. Although Ronaldo wasn’t bad, he was quite invisible in a game in which Juve’s midfield was completely taken out of the equation by Porto.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be held off the scoresheet twice by Porto
But Ronaldo doesn’t have two bad games in a row in the Champions League. He is a legend of the knockout stages and has completed massive comebacks over Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid by doing it all on his own in front of goal. So a one-goal deficit at home against Porto is easy stuff for Ronaldo, even as it would be daunting for somebody else.
With rest and a squad that is returning to health and in good form, expect Ronaldo to have a huge game against Porto on Tuesday night. We could see Ronaldo find the back of the net multiple times against the underrated Liga NOS side, putting a dent in their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition.
Ronaldo feeds off of doubters, and he’ll have no shortage of motivation. He heard the critics pan him for a lackluster first leg. And surely, he’s heard the whispers from those outside of Turin trying to stir trouble by stating that Juventus are better without him.
We know Juve are better WITH Ronaldo. And most importantly, the No. 7 himself knows this. And he will prove it in the second leg, giving Juventus the boost they need in order to advance to the quarterfinals with some added momentum.
Ronaldo has been getting the job done all season long with 24 goals across Serie A and the Champions League. Porto did a great job of holding him in check in his home country, but they will not be able to do the same in Ronaldo’s new stomping grounds at the Allianz Stadium. The second leg is the legend’s to own.