Villarreal travel to Italy tomorrow evening to take on Juventus in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 clash. It’s a mouthwatering encounter and it’s finally poised after the two sides drew 1-1 in the first leg back at La Ceramica.
Juventus took a first-minute lead on that occasion through Dusan Vlahovic only to be put under serious pressure by Villarreal for the remainder of the encounter. Dani Parejo equalised for the Yellow Submarine in the 66th minute but Villarreal left the game feeling like they should have taken a lead with them to Turin.
They didn’t and now they’re going to have to win at what remains one of the most difficult places to go in European football despite the poor moment Juventus are living.
Villarreal’s form since that night has been mixed; they beat Espanyol and Celta Vigo but lost to Osasuna. They’re seventh in La Liga. Juventus, who are fourth in Serie A, have beaten Empoli, Fiorentina, Spezia and Sampdoria since their trip to La Ceramica.
“Juve have a game plan and it’s based on that, but they also knew what they were up against,” Giovani Lo Celso told Marca. “We’re a team that tries to collect passes and create situations by controlling the game being protagonists.
“They scored an early goal but it didn’t take us out of the game. That was the most important thing, the reaction of the team. We kept looking at the game in the same way, without despairing. We know that the goal, if we did things right, was going to come.
“But in Turin it’s going to be a different game. They, playing at their ground with their people, are going to press much more. But we have to go into the game with the same idea, of being the protagonists. Knowing that when we have to suffer, we’ll suffer together. And that we have the tools to get through.”
