MY ACCOUNT
Juan Cuadrado is struggling to sleep because of Juventus’ poor Champions League form, but the versatile winger is determined to at least qualify for the Europa League.
Juve were eliminated from UEFA’s primary club competition with a game to go – at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday – following a 4-3 loss to Benfica last week.
The Italian giants have lost four group matches for the first time in their history and are only above Group H’s bottom side Maccabi Haifa on goal difference.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men must therefore match or better the Israeli side’s result against Benfica if they are to drop into the Europa League via the backdoor.
Either way, it has been a humbling experience for the two-time European champions after missing out on the knockout stages for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
“We have played some good matches,” Cuadrado said ahead of facing PSG. “When you play well and don’t win, there are no questions.
“But there is time to improve further. It’s difficult to sleep when certain things happen, but they did happen. We have the strength of a good team here.
“We know this is an important match for us because we are playing for qualification for the Europa League.”
Juve are looking to avoid becoming only the second Italian side to lose five Champions League matches in a single group-stage campaign after Roma in the 2004-05 season.
Cuadrado has started 15 games for Juve in all competitions this season, including all five European games – only Danilo (16) has started more regularly.
The Colombia international, who is expected to feature at the World Cup, has spent seven years in Turin but is set to be out of contract at the end of the campaign.
“I’m happy to be here. I feel like this team is my family,” he said. “I’ve almost spent my entire career as a professional here and am grateful to Juventus.
“As for my future, I try to move forward in order to do the best for the team and then we will see.”
