Juventus have no ‘special tactic’ for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo in Champions League tie, says Massimiliano Allegri

Real meet Juventus in Turin on Tuesday night for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, in a repeat of last year’s final in Cardiff

Allegri tipped Paulo Dybala to shine against Real (Getty)

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s adaptation from all-round forward to poacher, and insists his team do not have a “special tactic” for stopping the Real Madrid striker.

Real meet Juventus in Turin on Tuesday night for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, in a repeat of last year’s final in Cardiff, and Allegri believes that Juve are ready to go toe to toe with the side he labelled the tournament favourites and their leading light, Ronaldo.

“We are up against the Champions League favourites – to beat them would be a feather in our cap,” said Allegri. “I have watched the Cardiff final several times. We have improved in terms of handling difficult spells in a game compared with last season. Real Madrid won 12 European Cups. They are an extraordinary team, but I think Juventus will be at the same level.

“A special tactic to stop Ronaldo? The defenders must be good but I want to congratulate him for how he changed his style completely in his 30s. It’s not easy to do what he did.”

Juventus carry their own attacking threats in the Argentinian duo Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala, both of whom scored against Tottenham in the previous round, and Allegri has promised a standout performance from Dybala against Real.

“I’m convinced that Dybala will have a great match tomorrow. He has played a few games now after recovering from his injuries and he is in great form. Alex Sandro and [Mario] Mandzukic are fine, they could be very useful even from the bench. We’ll see.”

Allegri’s counterpart Zinedine Zidane insisted the meeting in Cardiff is irrelevant, as he prepares to return to the club where he spent five years as a player.

“In the five years that I was at Juventus I learnt a lot, not only as a player but also as a person,” said Zidane. “They welcomed me here like a family, I have really good memories of the time that I spent here.

“We are here to play a good game, but certainly the final in Cardiff has nothing to do with tomorrow’s match and we will not think about that. It’s a completely different story.”

Gareth Bale has made a timely return to fitness, scoring twice against Las Palmas, but Zidane gave no guarantees that the Welshman would start, with Spanish midfielder Isco also in excellent form.

“I’m very pleased with his performance. You’ll have to wait and see if he plays,” the manager said of Bale.