Cristiano Ronaldo to teammates: Get ready for a comeback

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo warms up prior to an Italian League match against Udinese in Turin recently. Pic/AFP

Juventus's Champions League hopes are hanging on Cristiano Ronaldo pulling off another sensational comeback as the Italians trail 2-0 to defensive specialists Atletico Madrid going into the Last 16, second-leg tie in Turin tonight.

"We didn't expect to lose the first leg 2-0, but anything can happen, and we want to give a great response in our home, in front of our fans," Ronaldo said ahead of the game in the Allianz Stadium.

'Fantastic night'
"These are the great nights, the fantastic ones: the Champions League nights," he continued. "The team is confident of playing a great game and I am too. To the fans I say: think positive, let's believe. Get ready to comeback!"

The seven-time reigning Italian champions bought Ronaldo last summer from Real Madrid for 100 million euros to end their Champions League heartbreak going back 23 years. Ronaldo's, 34, stunning overhead kick for Real in the quarter-finals in Turin last April had dumped Juventus out of the tournament once again. Expectations are high that he can reproduce his improbable hat-trick which lifted Real Madrid past Wolfsburg in April 2016 with the Spaniards 2-0 down after the first leg.

Juventus have come from behind in the Champions League eight times - including in the 1996 quarter-finals against Real Madrid on their way to winning the title. They also lifted the European trophy in 1985, but have finished runners-up five times, including twice in the past four years.

The top scorer in the Champions League for the last six seasons, Ronaldo has however scored just once in this year's competition, delivering a performance far below expectations in Madrid. The problem for Juventus is they need to score at least twice against a team that specialises in defence.

'Strong Atletico'
"Everyone knows that they are a strong team, they defend well, they don't take a lot of risks and they play on the counter-attack, but we will do everything we can to beat them," said Ronaldo, who has scored 22 goals against Atletico.

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