Juventus’ Rock: Will This Bullish Centre-Back Halt Ronaldo’s Lethal Form?

Carlo Ancelotti welcomes former club Juventus to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday as Real Madrid continue their quest for the Champions League. As per usual Cristiano Ronaldo will be at the fore of proceedings with Los Blancos keen on establishing what would be an almost unassailable lead at the top of Group B with a victory over the reigning Italian champions, whilstGiorgio Chiellini will lead the Bianconeri into battle at the back as they look to serve up an upset and challenge for top spot in the group.

The pair lead their respective squads in Performance Score both in league play and the Champions League, Ronaldo registering a tally of 526 in La Liga and 257 in Europe’s elite club competition as the Italian defender has amassed figures of 323 in Serie A and 134 in continental action.

Each players’ exploits have further placed him inside the top 10 rankings in the Champions League this season in terms of Performance Score, the Portugal international leading the pack by quite some distance with Chiellini slotting in at 11th.

Ronaldo’s scintillating start sees him at the summit of the scoring charts in Europe, his five goals bringing along with them a trio of Squawka ‘Best’ Awards that have been bested amongst Real Madrid and Juventus men only by the five collected by Chiellini.

Champions League Top Goal Scorers

As ever, the danger posed by the ex-Manchester United forward hasn’t been limited to a single dimension, as he has distributed his five Champions League goals quite evenly body part-wise, netting twice with each his left foot and head whilst striking a single time with his favoured right foot.

Cristiano Ronaldo Goals Scored In The Champions League

Add in the seven chances created by the 28-year-old and it’s quite easy to see a full picture of his well-documented dominance, his superiority having been so complete that he’s attempted only four take-ons in the Champions League in not even needing to activate the vast arsenal of skills at his disposal to see off his opponents in the early going.

For Ronaldo’s great versatility, however, Chiellini is quite impressive himself in a number of facets of the game.

The Italy international has made 10 interceptions, while he has also won 11 of his 13 headed duels.

Giorgio Chiellini Duels Won

Plying his trade on the left side of a three-man defence, Chiellini is also rather adept in distribution, having completed 90% of his passes, including 72% of long balls attempted, through Juventus’ encounters with Copenhagen and Galatasaray and created four chances in the process from both central and wide areas.

Giorgio Chiellini Total Chances Created

However, Chiellini has only attempted three tackles in the Champions League, but his 17 tackles from 24 attempts in the Italian top flight are indicative of his ability to do better than he has in challenging attackers on the ground.

It’s quite plain to the eye that Ronaldo and Chiellini are driving forces for their sides, and each will be required to be in top form for their clubs to perform to their fullest potential on matchday three.

Juventus’ trademark defensive solidity has been under siege in the young season with Antonio Conte’s men having conceded 13 goals in 10 contests in all competitions, falling to a particularly crushing 4-2 defeat to Fiorentina at the weekend after being 2-0 up midway through the second-half.

Vice-captain Chiellini will need to marshal the forces in the rearguard to restore the miserliness that saw the Bianconeri allow only four goals through their first eight Champions League encounters in 2012-13, especially if his side hope to fend off Ronaldo and company at the Santiago Bernabeu to snatch a positive result.

Ronaldo on the other hand will have his eye on continuing to produce at the astronomical clip he’s set thus far and put Juventus under as much pressure as possible throughout the 90 minutes, forcing the Old Lady to find answers to the questions he poses both directly and creatively.

The two men will not line up opposite each other come kick-off on tonight as they each operate on the left, but their sheer influence in divergent phases of the game will see them affect the outcome in equal measure to their sides as a whole.

And so, their tasks are clear. For Ronaldo, attack the enemy at every opportunity from every angle, and for Chiellini, slam the door shut on the assailants and get the ball to the men up top who can do damage at the opposite end of the pitch.