AS Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim says his side need to have a perfect match if they are going to defeat Juventus and reverse their 1-0 Champions League quarter-final deficit.
Last week, the Italian champions secured a narrow victory over the French club when Juventus were awarded a second half penalty after defender Ricardo Carvalho tripped Alvaro Morata as the striker entered the box.
Midfielder Arturo Vidal converted the 57th-minute penalty and put the Serie A side in solid position to reach their first European Cup semi-final since the 2002-03 season.
Despite defeating Arsenal in the previous round, Monaco entered the tie against Juventus as clear underdogs.
While most teams would not consider a 1-0 deficit an insurmountable gap – especially since the return leg will be in Monaco – the Ligue Un side have not won in their four previous home games; losing once and drawing their last three.
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim knows his team must drastically improve on their recent performances at Stade Louis II if they are to overcome the Italian champions and advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
“We need to have the perfect match, with good defensive organization and a clinical edge in attack,” Jardim said during his pre-match press conference.
“We tend to score more away and I would like us to start doing the same at home – like we did against Zenit [Monaco defeat the Russian side 2-0 in the group stages].
“We will take some calculated risks to go through. We will play intelligently and aim to score goals without conceding. We have to keep calm heads, though.
“We like playing in full stadiums, it gives us more motivation. But let’s not forget that there will be Juventus fans here as well.”
Monaco are eyeing their first Champions League semi-final since the 2003-04 season, when they ultimately advanced to the final where they lost to Jose Mourinho’s Porto side.
Programming note: AS Monaco vs. Juventus will be shown LIVE today at 2:45pm EST on FOX Sports 2 and FoxSoccer2Go.
