Juventus pose on the counter in the second leg of
their Champions League semi-final, says coach
Leonardo Jardim.
Gonzalo Higuain's brace at the Stade Louis II last
week means Juve are in control of the tie, while
Gianluigi Buffon has kept six clean sheets in a row
in the Champions League, leaving the odds firmly
against Monaco.
But Jardim - whose side are on track to win Ligue
1 - said Monaco have to put the first-leg result
behind them as they prepare for the return fixture
in Turin on Tuesday.
"We will have to attack with our minds free of bad
thoughts," Jardim told reporters. "In the first leg we
had the same number of shots on goal as Juve, but
they were more clinical.
"Obviously they are more mature than we are but
we lost because we didn't make the most of our
chances. Tomorrow we want to keep our dream
alive: our objective is to reach the final.
"I'm very proud of my players and what they have
done so far, regardless of Tuesday's result."
Jardim hinted at his selection plans for the second
leg, with a shift in tactics likely to deal with the
attacking threat of Dani Alves, who provided
assists for both of Higuain's goals in the opening
match.
"Juventus gave us a lot of problems in the first leg
so we will have to change something for sure,"
Jardim added. "Alves especially was very good but
it's normal because he is a great player who is
used to playing in this kind of game.
"Juve in general are a great team so we will have
to be at our very best if we want to beat them. We
are expecting great things from [Radamel] Falcao
but [Benjamin] Mendy is not 100 per cent at the
moment; it would be a risk to field him."
Despite Juve looking likely to book a final clash
against Real Madrid - who lead Atletico Madrid
3-0 after their own first leg - Monaco right-back
Djibril Sidibe said his side think they can overturn
the two-goal deficit.
"We still believe we can qualify," Sidibe told
reporters. "We might have lost the first leg but we
are ready to play a great game. Buffon is a great
goalkeeper, he is always very focused and made
two great saves in the first leg.
"We have had a great season so far and tomorrow
we will give our best to win. We were disappointed
with the result of the first leg but we are still full of
enthusiasm. We have many young players but
we're very talented. The main objective is to end
the game with no regrets.
"We are looking forward to playing here in this
stadium; there will be a great atmosphere. We have
proved that we can score plenty of goals this
season so we still believe we can do it, we still
have a chance. We are ready to play a great game
against a very strong side in Juventus."
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