Allegri plays down dreams of Juve glory

ROME: Juventus travel to Porto as cautious favourites for tonight’s’s first-leg fixture in the last 16 of the Champions League. The Italian champions were losing finalists to Barcelona in 2015 and last year exited in the last 16 after a memorable performance against Bayern Munich.

As they lead in the Italian Serie A, eyeing a record sixth straight title, some feel this could be the right year to end a two-decade drought since their second European triumph in 1996. And upbeat fans dream of a treble including the Italian Cup, where the Bianconeri are to meet Napoli in the semi-finals.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri, however, played down dreams of glory and warned that “extreme exaltation is insane,” finding support from his Brazil full-back Alex Sandro, who in 2015 left the twotime European champions after a four-season stint.

“If there is one thing to know about Porto, it is that they keep fighting until the very end,” the defender said. “They never give you an easy game, especially at the Estadio do Dragao. This is a side with excellent individuals who never give up.”

Warnings also came from Moroccan centre-back Medhi Benatia, who last year helped Bayern eliminate the Turin side in a 6-4 extra-time drama.

“There’s no such thing as an easy game in the Champions League and Porto are used to pitting their wits at this level,” he said.

Defence mainstay Leonardo Bonucci was also wary about a team who eliminated Roma on a 4-1 aggregate in the August play-offs: “Porto may not be a top-notch squad as others we could have met in the last 16, but we have maximum respect for them. “They had a rough time at the start of their league season, but have recovered with a vengeance (coming from six straight wins and sitting one point behind leaders Benfica).” – dpa