Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Juventus Rallying Call Ahead of Atletico Madrid Game

Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a rallying cry to his Juventus team-mates and fans ahead of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Juve lost 2-0 to Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the first leg of the tie, and they'll look to overturn that deficit in Turin.

Ronaldo spoke to Juventus TV about their hopes of fighting back:

He said (h/t Marca):

"On Tuesday night, let's think positively, let's believe.

"It's possible, but we need your help to make the stadium look good and beautiful. Be everything together—everyone together.

"And we need your help because we are going to do our job on the pitch to try and score goals and win the game, and we need your support.

"Thank you very much. ... Get ready to comeback!"

Ronaldo's comments came as part of a campaign from Juve to instil belief in their ability to progress on Tuesday, per Italian football expert David Amoyal:

Atleti won in Madrid courtesy of goals from Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, but it could have been an even more one-sided scoreline.

Los Rojiblancos thoroughly outclassed Juventus in the first leg, and Alvaro Morata can count himself a little unfortunate to have seen his header ruled out following a VAR review:

Juve will need to make up a two-goal deficit on Tuesday against a side that have not conceded a goal since their defeat to Real Madrid on February 9.

What's more, their chief attacking threat, Ronaldo, has not scored in his last three matches.

The 34-year-old will be fresh for the match, though, having been rested in Friday's 4-1 win over Udinese, and he excels in making the difference in Champions League knockout games, having scored 60 times in that phase of the competition.

Ronaldo might also take inspiration from former team Manchester United, who overturned the same deficit away from home against Paris Saint-Germain without 10 first-team players.

Atletico are accustomed to featuring in the latter stages of the Champions League, having reached the final in 2014 and 2016, as well as the semi-final in 2017.

Beating them won't be easy on Tuesday, but if Ronaldo and his team-mates can perform to their capabilities, they're more than capable of pulling off a comeback.