The Juventus forward believes his side have what it takes to come back from their first leg deficit
Cristiano Ronaldo says Juventus are not worried about being eliminated from the Champions League despite losing to Lyon in their round of 16 first leg.
The Ligue 1 side pulled off arguably the biggest upset in the competition so far when they beat Maurizio Sarri’s men 1-0 on Wednesday.
Lucas Tousart scored the only goal of the game as the Bianconeri set several unwanted records at both ends of the pitch.
The away side dominated possession but struggled in the final third, failing to register a single shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes.
The evening also saw Lyon beat Juventus in European competition for the very first time, having lost three of their previous four such encounters and managing just a single draw.
Juve welcome their French opponents to Turin in the return leg in mid-March, and their star forward is confident that the hosts can progress to the next stage of the competition.
“We’re not worried about exiting the Champions League,” said Ronaldo.
“It’s the most difficult competition there is in this sport. I’m impatient to play the return leg at Allianz Stadium.
“I’m convinced that we will qualify”.
Juventus suffered their first defeat of their European campaign at the hands of Lyon after going unbeaten in the group stages, winning five and drawing once in Group D.
Their campaign began with a dramatic 2-2 draw at Atletico Madrid, with Sarri’s side then beating Bayer Leverkusen and Lokomotiv Moscow both home and away to clinch top spot.
Ronaldo has two goals in the competition this time around, but sits top of the all-time leaderboard with 128, 14 ahead of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
The pair have dominated the standings in recent years, with the Portuguese attacker claiming the top scorer award in three of the past four seasons.
Messi does, however, hold the record for the most Champions League goals for a single club, with all of his 114 coming in the colours of Barcelona, compared to Ronaldo’s 106 for Real Madrid prior to his switch to Italy.
Juve’s next game sees them host Inter on Sunday evening, a match that will be played behind closed doors in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Italy.
Cristiano Ronaldo confident Juventus can turn Champions League tie around against Lyon
The Serie A champions were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie against the French club on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo is confident that Juventus will be able to turn their Champions League tie against Lyon around and progress to the quarter-finals.
The Serie A champions were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Wednesday after a disappointing display against the French club.
Lucas Tousart’s first half goal proved enough to give the Ligue 1 outfit their first ever win over Juventus in European competition as Maurizio Sarri’s side ended the game without managing a shot on target.
Although the result has left the Italian giants with a lot of work to do when Lyon travel to Turin for the reverse leg on March 17, Ronaldo has little doubt his side will be able to advance.
“We are not happy about the game, it’s normal,” the Juventus star told the club’s website . “But this can happen, the games in the Champions League are all difficult.
“We are very confident that we can change the result and go to the next round, but our priority right now is to win the upcoming games and the Champions League will come.
“We are relaxed, we are focused, and we are prepared for the next games.”
The defeat at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais was Juventus’s first in Europe this season after they topped Group D with five wins and a draw.
Despite scoring 19 goals since the start of the December, Ronaldo was unable to make the breakthrough as Sarri’s side slipped to their third defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions.
The Serie A leaders now turn their attention to Sunday’s league clash with third-placed Inter Milan, which will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
Looking ahead to the match against Antonio Conte’s side, Ronaldo added: “It’s a big game, it’s a derby. It’s like Barcelona vs Real Madrid .
“These are the games that the players like to play in . And against Inter it will be a good game where we play against a fantastic team and a fantastic coach.
“We are not happy about the fact that our fans will not be with us, but our responsibility is still the same – we have to win. We are at home and I hope that we will have a great result.”
