Football NewsJuventus boss Andrea Pirlo has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo is “fired up”
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The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was handed a timely rest by the Bianconeri on Saturday when they beat Lazio 3-1.

Ronaldo is fired up

Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo is “fired up” and is ready to go ahead of Juventus’ Champions League clash with Porto. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was handed a timely rest by the Bianconeri on Saturday when they beat Lazio 3-1. Alvaro Morata netted a brace that allowed an illustrious colleague to see just 21 minutes of game time off the bench. That cameo appearance has helped Ronaldo keep ticking over, with an all-time great readying himself for another outing on the kind of stage that he usually dazzles on – with Juve needing inspiration from somewhere as they strive to overturn a 2-1 deficit of the first leg. Pirlo told reporters ahead of the last meeting on Tuesday 16 in Turin: “Cristiano Ronaldo is fine; these are his matches.”

Juve is ready to face Porto in the UCL

“He was fired up; he has been able to rest and cannot wait”. The Serie A champions have been nursing a series of awkward knocks over the past weeks, but the necessary experience should be at their disposal against Porto. Pirlo added to the request for a fitness update: “Giorgio Chiellini trained with the group today, he feels good, and I think he may be available for tomorrow’s game”. Matthijs De Ligt worked with the group today just in terms of warm-up, then he did individual training. Arthur is not 100 per cent, but he could start tomorrow. We hope he can hold out for a while. Federico Bernardeschi is fine, and he has the opportunity to play from the start, like the rest, but tomorrow morning I will decide.”

The team need a positive result

“Morata is improving a lot; he is so ambitious, looking for different solutions against different teams, likes to read on opponents, and this is a very positive aspect for a striker of his high level.” Weston McKennie is doing quite well. He has been carrying this problem with him for a while. We know that and trying to handle it better. He cannot play for 90 minutes, so we try to manage him as best we can”. Juve need a positive result in midweek to maintain their European dreams for 2020-21. A shock defeat in an initial meeting with Porto has them in a challenging position. But an away goal has been registered, and one more effort would have been enough to see them in the quarter-finals.

Pirlo said of the challenge facing his team: “We know perfectly well that the pressure is on us, but we are not hiding. We have something to go through, but we do not underestimate our opponent. Porto are an excellent and solid team, but we are Juventus, and we have to think about qualifications. Tomorrow we cannot make any mistakes and will have to manage 90 minutes with our best concentration and energy.”