Athetico Madrid will show last year's accomplishment was not a fluke, as they bring a different kind of mindset to the Vincente Calderon stadium for their UEFA Champions League group stage clash with Italia Serie A power Juventus on Saturday.
Coming off a tough 3-2 loss against Olympiacos in Greece, Diego Simeone swears he's going to find a way for his men to get their UEFA Champions League campaign back in order against a very strong Juventus side. Athletico defender Juanfran also made a bold move of winning against one of Europe's superpowers.
"We know we cannot fail," Atletico defender Juanfran told the club's official website via ESPN FC. "We've already had a setback in this competition, to have two would almost eliminate us."
"The key to our team is that the more complicated things get, the better we compete. We know we need to win no matter what. One of Europe's best teams is coming here and we will be ready. I'm convinced that we will win."
There's a reason for the defending Spanish La Liga winner to be confident heading into a much-awaited clash with the Italian champ, as they lost only twice in their last 19 games on their home turf. The team was also coming off a 4-0 victory over Sevilla on Saturday to move two points behind league-leader Barcelona.
On the other hand, Juventus will try to snag another crucial victory against Athletico Madrid after cruising to a 2-0 win over Sweden's Malmo at Juventus Stadium in Turin.
Juventus midfielder Marchisio vowed he and his teammates will bring an all-out effort to beat the Champions League runner-up winner before their home crowd and sustain their good start this year.
"We began this competition well by winning our first game, something we had failed to do in previous campaigns,'' Marchisio told the club's website. ''Now we have a very delicate game in Madrid. We have to try to get a good result there because it would give us a big boost in confidence to beat a great team like Atletico.
The Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus game is just one of several high-profile games to be played on Wednesday. UEFA Champions League champ Real Madrid will also play against Ludogorets, while Liverpool faces FC Basel.
Live Stream coverage of the UEFA Champions League is available on BeIn Sports and Sports Stream. Stats, commentary and post-game analysis can be found on ESPN FC.
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