Midfielder Miralem Pjanić Confident Juventus 'Can Beat Barcelona Again' After Sporting Stalemate
Miralem Pjanić believes Juventus can bounce back to defeat Barcelona, after a disappointing draw to Sporting Clube on Tuesday night.
Juventus missed the chance to go level with Barcelona in their Champions League group, after being held down by a resolute Sporting side in Lisbon, but still have every chance of finishing as leaders.
Last season, Juventus defeated the Blaugrana 3-0 in the first-leg of their semi-final clash, before earning a goalless draw at the Camp Nou to reach the final.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Juvefc.com), Pjanić said: "We've already beaten Barcelona once at home, and we can do it again. When the time comes, we'll give our all - we want to get six points in the last two matches.
"I can assure you it's hard to come here [Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon] and win 3:0 or 4:0. Maybe you're underestimating our opponents because Olympiakos and Sporting are both good teams - they're good defensively.
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"They close up at the back and then break with speed, so, if you don't face them perfectly, you'll find yourself in trouble.
"That's what happened to us in the first half," the Bosnian said frankly, "but in the second, we got a very important goal.
"I was too deep, but we found it hard to get out with the ball, and we misplaced too many passes. In the second half, we moved well between the lines, and myself, Dybala and Khedira caused them problems."
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Pjanić has picked off from previous seasons and enjoyed a fine start to the season, picking up two goals and five assists in nine Serie A appearances.
Though comfortably dispatching the Catalans last season, it was Juventus who were the inferior side in the September clash as a Lionel Messi brace decimated Massimiliano Allegri's side.
Despite dropping points during the week, the race for first in the group is very much in I Bianconeri's hands, as they face Barcelona again in three weeks time in Turin.
