TURIN: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed the impact Cristiano Ronaldo was having on the Italian champions as the Portuguese star became the first player to achieve 100 Champions League wins in Tuesday’s 1-0 success over Valencia that clinched their passage to the knockout rounds.
“Ronaldo gives us a sense of security and confidence,” said Allegri of the beaten finalists in two of the last four editions of the elite European competition.
“The team is essentially the same as last season. We’ve grown, become faster in playing the ball, but then of course, there is Cristiano Ronaldo.
“This team is constantly improving — they’re passing and putting play together more quickly.”
Ronaldo — who joined “the Old Lady” last summer from Real Madrid for €112 million ($126 million) — is targeting a sixth Champions League title to add to his four with the Spanish team and one with Manchester United.
The Italian giants are looking for their third European title and first since 1995.
Last season they exited in the quarterfinals to Ronaldo’s Real Madrid — thats largely to the Portuguese’s outrageous overhead kick which gave Gianluigi Buffon no chance in the Juve goal.
The 33-year-old played a key role against Valencia providing the assist on 59 minutes which Croatian Mario Mandzukic tapped in for his third goal in as many matches.
Juventus had needed just a point to ensure qualification. Their win combined with Manchester United’s late 1-0 win over Young Boys at Old Trafford means Valencia have crashed out of the competition.
Allegri’s side will now have to wait to see whether they top Group H when they play their final group game mid-December in Bern against Young Boys.
Ronaldo came out firing on all cylinders after his controversial red card during his first Champions League game for Juventus in Valencia back in September, which Allegri’s side still won 2-0.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had two chances within the first three minutes to add to his record tally of 121 Champions League goals.
Just before the hour mark, Ronaldo broke free of Valencia defender Gabriel and with some fancy footwork fired low across the face of the goal leaving Mandzukic to finish off.
“You can see how united we are including the forward,” said Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini.
“All three of them — Ronaldo, Mandzukic and Dybala, really put themselves about, it makes everything much easier.
Since his move from Real Madrid Ronaldo has scored nine league goals in just 13 matches. That scoring rate for a first-time Juve player has not been accomplished since Pietro Anastasi managed it in the 1968-69 season. Added to that Ronaldo has been directly involved in half of Juve’s 28 goals in the current Serie A campaign, with nine goals and five assists.
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken Juventus to the next level, says Massimiliano Allegri
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken Juventus to the next level, says Massimiliano Allegri
- Portuguese star set new record with 100th win in the Champions League.
- Old Lady looking to win third European crown with Ronaldo now on board.
Real Madrid face Man City, PSG draw Chelsea in Champions League last 16
- This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012
- Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray
PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before traveling to England for the return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarterfinals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semifinals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.
PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarterfinals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.
Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
“The draw is fascinating, as usual,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions.”
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.
- Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona -
There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarterfinals.
Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.
The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarterfinals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St. James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.
Barcelona’s only other possible opponents were holders PSG, but their coach Hansi Flick insisted: “We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League.”
Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.
Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favorites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.
The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Arsenal as “perhaps the top favorite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League. Everything has to go right, but then we’re capable of making life difficult for them.”
German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.
The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
