‘Ronaldo can’t wait!’ - Pirlo fires CR7 warning to Porto

The Juventus boss is ready to unleash a fired-up Ronaldo on Porto in a must-win Champions League showdown.

Cristiano Ronaldo is rested and all fired-up to face Porto in the Champions League, says Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo.

With one eye on Tuesday’s match against Porto, Ronaldo took a spot on the bench in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lazio. He came on for the last 21 minutes to help maintain Juventus’ lead and is now preparing for the Champions League.

The Bianconeri need their star player in top shape for the second leg after losing the opening leg 2-1 in Portugal a fortnight ago.

“Cristiano is fine, these are his matches. He’s fired up, he’s been able to rest and can’t wait,” said Pirlo in a pre-match conference on Monday afternoon.

“We know the pressure is on us, but we don’t hide. We have what it takes to go through, but we won’t underestimate our opponents. However, we are Juventus and we have to think about qualifying.”

Pirlo could welcome back Giorgio Chiellini for the match, with the Juventus skipper seen training at Continassa on Monday. A return for Matthijs de Ligt, however, is unlikely after the Dutchman featured in just the warm-up phase.

Pirlo press conference resumed:

→ Chiellini is fine
→ Cristiano has rested and fine
→ Arthur not fit yet, but he could start
→ Matthijs de Ligt isn't fine yet
→ McKennie must be managed
→ Danilo absence is a heavy one

Tomorrow: Juventus-Porto. #JFC

— Max Statman (@emaxstatman) March 8, 2021

“Chiellini trained with the team,” confirmed Pirlo. “He’s not at his best, but I think he can be available for tomorrow.”

Arthur Melo isn’t at 100% percent either, but the Brazilian could still start for the match in Turin and Federico Bernardeschi could continue as a left-back.

Paulo Dybala, meanwhile, is still a doubt, Rodrigo Bentancur is unavailable due to a positive COVID-19 test last week, and Danilo is suspended.