Champions League final: 5 things Juventus need to do to beat Real Madrid

5) Win the battle of set-pieces

Juventus must be cautious of Real’s set-piece ability

With two contrasting formations taking on each other, we could see an open game with a number of chances created at both ends. However, both teams do have another ace up their sleeves – dominating set-pieces.

Marking Kroos for 90 minutes is impossible since he also takes corners and free-kicks. On that front, Juve’s defenders will have to latch themselves on to Ronaldo even though he may not be the biggest threat in the box. Ramos loves a late headed goal and Allegri will have seen highlights of his headed goals where his teammates make dummy runs and provide screens to allow Kroos to find Ramos with pinpoint accuracy.

Ronaldo’s free-kick conversion rate may have dropped in recent years but he remains the man for the big occasion and has found the back of the net in the Champions League 10 times this season. It is up to Juve to not concede silly fouls around the box to put Buffon under unnecessary pressure.

Juve have also scored from set-pieces this season (remember Chiellini’s headed goal against Barcelona?) and they will need to make good use of any corner kicks they win. They have the height advantage in the box with their defenders, Khedira and Mandzukic all capable of scoring with a header.