Koke: ‘Atletico Madrid v Juventus like a war’

Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke believes his side’s Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Juventus ‘will be like war’.

Los Rojiblancos lead 2-0 from last month’s first leg in Madrid and appear in control of the tie, but face a side who are unbeaten in Serie A this campaign and are set for an eighth title.

“What I am most concerned with is how we will play. It’ll be fundamental to play with intensity, because we know that we have a positive first leg result, but anything can happen, so it still depends on us,” said Koke in his Press conference.

“Juve are very strong in the air, are good at pressing and will have the crowd behind them, but it’s 11 against 11 and we must start strong too.

“We’ve had tough games in recent years, but then they always are at this level. We are ready and will try to ensure there are no surprises. We want to go through at all costs, so we know the result we have is positive, but not definitive.

“There are still 90 minutes to go if we want to get through to the next round. We have experience in certain types of games at this level and we want to use that to our advantage.

“We know anything can happen in the Champions League. We are humble, we know that we are facing a great team.

“We played very well at the Wanda Metropolitano and come here convinced we can put in a similar performance but have to give our all.

“We’re fired up and have to prove it on the pitch. We’ve already played in fiery atmospheres, so we know it’ll be like war on the field, but it’s 11 against 11 and if we are humble, we’ll go through.”

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