Former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes Juventus can turn their Champions League tie against Galatasaray on its head on Wednesday night, but only if they find a way to keep Victor Osimhen quiet at the Allianz Stadium, Footynaija.com reports.
Juventus head into the second leg in Turin trailing 5-2 from the first leg in Istanbul. They led 2-1 at half time before Galatasaray scored three times in the second-half, with Noa Lang grabbing a brace and Osimhen pulling strings throughout.
And now, to go through, Juventus need to win by at least three goals without conceding. Win by four and they avoid a penalty shootout.
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Prandelli’s case for Juventus
Prandelli, who managed Fiorentina twice and took Italy to the Euro 2012 final, is not ready to write Juventus off.
He points to the fact that Galatasaray are a completely different team away from their own ground, and that the first leg itself was proof that anything can happen in 90 minutes.
“Scoring three or four goals against Osimhen and his teammates without conceding will be hard, but after the first leg in Istanbul, who would have imagined Galatasaray scoring three goals in 45 minutes against Juventus? Spalletti’s team can do it, why not,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“If they take the lead in the first 20 minutes, the whole picture changes.”
He also pointed to what is at stake beyond Wednesday night. Qualifying for the last 16 is worth around €15 million to Juventus, and with the club currently fifth in Serie A and fighting for a top-four spot, the momentum a comeback win would bring could matter just as much as the money.
The good news for Galatasaray is that Osimhen, who missed last weekend’s league trip to Konyaspor with knee pain, has returned to full training and is expected to start.
