We weren’t perfect, but we did do well- Massimiliano Allegri

The Old Lady did the unexpected to edge past Diego Simeone's side.

Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to the occasion of a heroic comeback for Juventus to topple Atletico Madrid 3-2 on aggregate and slip through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. The Old Lady were 2-0 down in the first leg and came from behind to beat Atletico 3-0 at home.

Juventus gaffer, Massimiliano Allegri was ecstatic with the win having used the Portuguese winger to the fullest to complete the comeback.

"We weren’t perfect, but we did do well to remain concentrated. There was the risk of taking a hysterical approach to the game, as the idea of the comeback had been talked about so much, but we had 95 minutes to get the job done. We did very well and the team deserve congratulations," the coach said.

He continued, “It would’ve been really strange for Cristiano Ronaldo to end his Champions League season with only one goal… He did well and the lads all contributed, including the fans providing a marvellous frame for the match."

“I think we gave a wonderful evening of football to all those passionate about the sport in Italy,” the Italian tactician added.

It took a hat-trick from Ronaldo that consisted of two headed goals and penalty to end the game 3-0. Atletico, on the other hand, did not cause much danger to the Juventus defence.

“This is a very difficult tournament and when two teams are on a relatively similar level, these things can happen," said the coach.

Juventus become the sixth team to qualify for the Quarterfinals and the fourth team in the roster to come from behind and cause an upset. Manchester United, FC Porto and Ajax Amsterdam did similar stuff last week.

"Juventus are one of the contenders to win the Champions League. If we had gone out after a performance like that, there would’ve been little to say," Allegri said.

The coach added, “If you don’t play in the Round of 16, you can’t dream of winning the Champions League, it doesn’t take a Harvard degree to know that. If you go through the group phase, you can hope, otherwise you focus on the Europa League. It’s one step at a time.”

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Juventus legend, Gianluigi Buffon, took to Instagram to congratulate his former team on the advancement to next stage. Buffon, with PSG, was knocked out by Manchester United last week.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

Complimenti a tutti!Un'impresa simile è qualcosa di straordinario e commovente Godetevela fino in fondo. P.s. grande mister Allegri!!????????

A post shared by Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon) on Mar 12, 2019 at 3:29pm PDT

“We thank Gigi, as he wrote Juventus history. We watched the PSG game the other day and were sad to see it go that way, but we’ll try to go all the way to Madrid so he can come with us,” the coach said.

Juventus face lowly Genoa on Sunday to strengthen their hold on the Serie A. They are yet to lose league game this season.