Juventus star Juan Cuadrado has vowed his side will learn the lessons of their painful defeat to Manchester United as they look to seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
A draw will be enough for the Italian giants to progress and they will not even need that if United – to whom they slipped to a late 2-1 defeat earlier this month – do not win at home to Young Boys.
That loss served as a wake-up call to Massimiliano Allegri’s otherwise buoyant side, who subsequently responded with two wins to stretch their lead at the top of Serie A to eight points.
Cuadrado told his club’s official website: “The first objective is to qualify and to do so we need to be concentrated right up to the final whistle, which is what we learned against Manchester United.
“I’m really proud to be a part of this family and to train with these superstars. I listen to the advice of Allegri and his coaching staff every day. We all try our best and this is our strength.”
Allegri’s injury list has increased with the news that Federico Bernardeschi is set to be ruled out after missing training due to a recurrence of a long-term adductor muscle injury.
And Allegri will certainly be taking nothing for granted against a Valencia side who know their slim top-two hopes will be over if they fail to win while United do.
Marcelino’s men also approach the match in good form, having followed their 3-1 win over Young Boys with successive La Liga victories against Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.
The coach told a press conference: “It will be a difficult match but the team is doing well and it will be difficult for our opponents to deal with us because we have a lot of intensity.”
Marcelino went on to insist he could read little into Juve’s late defeat to United, who he intimated had been fortunate to escape with all three points.
“In football victory only comes if you score goals,” added Marcelino. “Juventus proved to be better, but in football the one who scores wins and in the end this was Manchester United.”
