Juventus need 'great courage' and belief to beat Real Madrid, says Tudor

Igor Tudor has urged Juventus to show "great courage" against Real Madrid in their round of 16 clash, claiming it is their "match of the tournament".

Juventus finished second in Group G after a 5-2 defeat to Manchester City in their final group game, setting up a meeting with Group H winners Madrid.

Los Blancos have often had the edge in their previous meetings during the knockout stages; they have met 22 times before, and though Madrid have 10 wins to Juve's nine (D2), the Spanish side have won five of the nine knockout-round ties.

Juventus have lost the last two such matches, in the 2017-18 Champions League quarter-final, having also been defeated by Madrid in the showpiece the year before.

Tudor was under no illusion that it would be a tough outing for his side, but urged Juventus to show their best selves against Madrid.

"I expect a difficult match, against a renowned team with great qualities that, in the last ten years, have shown their worth in all competitions," Tudor said in his press conference.

"Real Madrid is always strong in these tournaments. We are prepared. We want to advance; we want to play our cards [right].

"I really liked Real Madrid's last match. I saw quality, teamwork and sacrifice. I saw a real team. We have a difficult match ahead of us. We have analysed it well, but I told my players that these are the best matches to play.

"Everyone wants to beat Real Madrid. We want to try too. We have to face it like this, also with great courage. The match of the tournament for us? Obviously!"

Juventus struggled in their last match against City, facing 11 shots, the most they have allowed in a match in nearly five years (11 versus Sassuolo in July 2020).

It also marked just the second time in the last 30 years that they have conceded five goals in a match (5-1 defeat to Napoli in January 2023).

Xabi Alonso confirmed in his press conference that there is a chance Kylian Mbappe will be back for Tuesday's game at Hard Rock Stadium, giving Juventus' defence something extra to think about.

But Tudor is confident Juventus have the right mindset to overcome the challenge.

"We have progressed through the group; now there is the first step of the second part of the competition ahead of us," he added.

"The difficulty of the challenge is evident, but we have to believe in it and try in every way to do our best to win and advance.

"Then there are also the opponents, of course, but we have to believe, run a lot, sacrifice ourselves, not make any mistakes and concede as little as possible. I believe in it. When the match starts, we'll see what happens."