the semi-finals and now wants to make amends b
upsetting their great rivals
Alvaro Morata claims he will try to shoot down
Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final
not only for Juventus - but also Real Madrid.
The Spain international lifted the European trophy
with the Blancos last May before joining Juve for
€20 million during the summer transfer window.
Morata returned to haunt his former employers thi
season, however, netting the decisive goal in
Juve's 3-2 aggregate victory over Madrid in the
Champions League semi-finals.
Consequently, Morata would now like to make
amends somewhat by firing Juve to victory over
his old club's fiercest rivals.
"I'll try to beat Barcelona, because of what it
means for Real Madrid fans as well," the attacker
told Cadena SER .
"But it would not be special because of having
scored against Barca, but because of the
importance of a Champions League final.
"It's an opportunity to go down in history, and
obviously scoring against Barcelona would not be
as painful as it was scoring against Madrid.
"But I need to actually score before thinking about
celebrations! Getting a goal in a Champions
League final against Barcelona is no easy task.
"I played for Madrid for many years, I'm not going
to say it's an extra motivation for me because you
don't need extra motivation when you play a
Champions League final, but facing Barca will
Morata is well aware Juve - who are on track for
their first-ever treble - will have their work cut out
containing a Barca side for whom Lionel Messi ha
been spectacular of late.
The Argentina international netted a sensational
opening goal in Saturday's Copa del Rey final win
over Athletic Bilbao, just a fortnight after clinching
La Liga with a fine finish in a 1-0 victory at Atletic
Madrid.
However, Morata pointed out that the four-time
Ballon d'Or winner has been brilliantly supported
by Luis Suarez and Neymar this term, with the
three having combined for a record-breaking 120
goals during the 2014-15 campaign.
"It is very difficult to stop Messi but there is not
just him at Barcelona," he added. "The other two,
Suarez and Neymar, can always punish you.
"If you focus only on Messi, the other two are
going to kill you. And then their defence... People
talk a lot about their attack but their defence is
"They are a great team in general, they are among
the best in the world - if not the best - but I'm
sure they also have plenty of respect for us
because they know we can be dangerous and
haven't reached the final by accident.
"We are certainly not going to Berlin thinking we
are inferior to Barcelona. We would not even go
there if we thought we had no chance of winning.
"They have had a great season, they are incredibl
players and they are in spectacular form right now
"However, I think we have one of the best
defensive lines in Europe. We have had some grea
performances ourselves and have handled some
top-level players.
"It will be a very difficult game but we are
confident we have our possibilities."
No comments:
Post a Comment