Ronaldo wants to be home and dry in Portugal
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PORTO • Cristiano Ronaldo returns to his native Portugal for the first time as a Juventus player as his side face Porto today, with the Italian giants fighting to keep up with Europe's most powerful clubs in the Champions League.
Juve are still finding their feet under novice coach Andrea Pirlo but they crave European glory more than anything, having lost five Champions League finals since last winning the trophy in 1996.
Success in Europe this season appears even more important as their domestic domination is showing signs of faltering with hopes of a 10th consecutive Scudetto in peril.
A 1-0 defeat at Napoli on Saturday left fourth-placed Juve eight points adrift of leaders Inter Milan (50), albeit with a game in hand.
But Ronaldo believes Juve can put their domestic troubles behind them.
"This (Serie A) defeat will not bring us down," he said.
"Let's raise our heads and think about the Champions League."
He faces a Portuguese team for the first time since 2016, when the then Real Madrid forward beat his former club Sporting 2-1.
His last Champions League visit to Porto dates back to April 2009 when he was at Manchester United and he enjoys returning home, with four goals and as many assists against Portugal's "Big Three", including Benfica.
His former Real teammate and Porto skipper Pepe knows that Ronaldo always has a point to prove while playing in his country.
"In my opinion, they've got the best player in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo," he told uefa.com.
"I've never played against him. So we've our work cut out for us.
"It will be a special match... Porto have never yet beaten Juventus. I hope this can be the first time."
In today's other last-16, first-leg tie, Borussia Dortmund travel to Sevilla, who won last season's Europa League, with star striker Erling Haaland urging his teammates to shake off their Bundesliga blues or risk a heavy defeat in Spain.
Having won just three of their last eight games in all competitions, Dortmund are languishing off the top four, 16 points behind leaders Bayern Munich (49).
"Sevilla are a strong team," Haaland said.
"If we play like we did in the last few games, we have no chance."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
PORTO V JUVENTUS
Singtel TV Ch110 & StarHub Ch214, tomorrow, 3.55am
SEVILLA V DORTMUND
Ch111 & Ch215, tomorrow, 3.55am
