Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, has called Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo a “goal animal”, ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League opener between the sides.
Last season, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Atletico, to help Juve overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
“It’s difficult to play against him,” Simeone told a news conference when asked about Ronaldo.
“He is a goal animal. He has achieved tremendous records. He has good aerial play, he has a great shot, he’s able to find spaces … any situation close to the area, he generates danger.
“We have suffered against him.”
The Argentine also refused to rate his team’s chances in the competition and said time will tell how far they can go.
“I always focus on the day to day but football is always football.
“There are teams that arrive better prepared to this competition but then it’s what you do on the pitch that counts.
“We saw it last season with Ajax [who reached the semifinals]. The Champions League is dangerous. Any rival you face can generate problems. Tomorrow we are going to play against a very strong team, that shows a lot of personality.
“We will be better if we think we can hurt them. What we want is to improve and grow in the competition. We want the new players to adapt,” Simeone added.
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