Jardim expects fearless Monaco to come out swinging
Monaco has to attack without fearing the threat Juventus pose on the counter in the second leg of its Champions League semi-final, according to manager Leonardo Jardim.
Gonzalo Higuain's brace at the Stade Louis II last week means Juve are in control of the tie, while Gianluigi Buffon has kept six clean sheets in a row in the UEFA Champions League, leaving the odds firmly against Monaco.
But Jardim - whose side is on track to win Ligue 1 - said Monaco has to put the first-leg result behind it as it prepares for the return fixture in Turin on Wednesday (AEST).
"We will have to attack with our minds free of bad thoughts," Jardim said. "In the first leg we had the same number of shots on goal as Juve, but they were more clinical.
"Obviously they are more mature than we are but we lost because we didn't make the most of our chances. Tomorrow we want to keep our dream alive: our objective is to reach the final.
"I'm very proud of my players and what they have done so far, regardless of Tuesday's result."
Jardim hinted at his selection plans for the second leg, with a shift in tactics likely to deal with the attacking threat of Dani Alves, who provided assists for both of Higuain's goals in the opening match.
"Juventus gave us a lot of problems in the first leg so we will have to change something for sure," Jardim added. "Alves especially was very good but it's normal because he is a great player who is used to playing in this kind of game.
"Juve in general are a great team so we will have to be at our very best if we want to beat them. We are expecting great things from [Radamel] Falcao but [Benjamin] Mendy is not 100 per cent at the moment; it would be a risk to field him."
Juventus v Monaco key stats:
- Higuain scored two goals in the first leg, as many as in his 24 previous Champions League knockout games. With five goals this season, it is already the most prolific campaign of his career in the competition.
- Dani Alves has scored more goals (9) and delivered more assists (25) than any other full-back in the Champions League since his debut in 2007-2008. He delivered two assists for Higuain in the first leg.
- No team has ever overturned a 2-0 first-leg home defeat in the Champions League knockout stages in 14 previous attempts.
- This is the second time these sides have met in a Champions League semi-final, Juventus securing its passage to the final with a 6-4 aggregate victory 19 years ago before losing to Real Madrid in the final (1997-1998).
- Monaco has reached the Champions League semis for the fourth time after 1993-1994, 1997-1998 and 2003-1904. No other French team has made the last four more than once.
- Juventus is unbeaten in its last 18 Champions League home games (W11 D7), its longest run without a defeat in the competition on home soil. Bayern Munich was the last team to beat them, back in April 2013 (2-0).
- Juve has not conceded a goal for 621 minutes, the current longest run in the competition. Six consecutive clean sheets constitute its best run in the competition. Sevilla's Nico Pareja was the last player to find the net in Turin, back in November.
- Monaco has only won two of its 11 away games in the Champions League knockout stages (D2 L7), and has also never kept a clean sheet in those 11 outings.
- Monaco has conceded 18 goals in the Champions League this season – including 10 in its last three away games – more than any other team among the remaining semi-finalists.