Lessons to learn

“You can analyse the match against Atalanta in two ways, either with a glass half empty: so we need to be very careful, because in this game, it barely takes any time at all to pay the price for playing below par.

“Alternatively, you look at the glass half full: we can say that we were about to win that match and that’s a sign of how strong we are.”

“Yesterday’s draw could actually do us good over the upcoming matches, giving us an indication of what we need to put into them.

“If we don’t play with the right amount of grit and determination, we’ll struggle against anyone. That said, we’ve picked up several excellent results over these three months, so there’s no need to be negative.”

Before beating Barcelona…

“Knocking out Barcelona without conceding was a source of huge satisfaction for the whole group. You won’t know this, but I actually confessed to president Andrea Agnelli that, if I didn’t let in a single goal over the two legs against Barca, I’d retire in June, but I had to go back on that!”

A career that knows no limits

“I’ve made a quick calculation: when I started off my career, there were still players around who were born in the early 1960s. I’ll finish off with guys born after the Millennium!

“In that sense, I’ve spanned four decades in the game and never thought about giving up. The fact I’ve succeeded is what makes me most proud of all.”

Founded in 1924, Monaco have won seven Ligue 1 titles, five French Cups and three French Super Cups.

They have never won the Champions League, but finished as runners-up to Porto in the 2004 final and reached the semi-finals in 1994 and 1998.

The Monagasque club, who play in red and white, have only won two out of four semi-finals in UEFA competition: the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992 and the aforementioned 2004 Champions League campaign.

This will be the third time that Juventus and Monaco face one another in Champions League history and the Bianconeri came out on top in both of their previous meetings.

In 1997/98, the Old Lady overcame the Red and Whites 6-4 on aggregate: Alessandro Del Piero scored a hat-trick before Zinedine Zidane added gloss late on in a 4-1 thrashing in Turin that put Juve in pole position to qualify for the final.

Marcello Lippi’s side would finish the job in Montecarlo, despite a 3-2 second-leg loss featuring goals from Del Piero and Nicola Amoruso.

Only two seasons ago, Arturo Vidal’s penalty in the home first leg proved the difference in a 1-0 aggregate victory for Massimiliano Allegri’s men in the 2015 quarter-finals en route to the showpiece event in Berlin.

Monaco are going strong in two out of a total four competitions in which they started the season.

After a 3-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday afternoon, they now stand as sole leaders of Ligue 1, three points clear of Paris Saint-German having previously just been ahead of the capital club on goal difference.

PSG, handsome victors over the principality side in both the Coupe de la Ligue final (4-0) and Coupe de France semi-finals earlier this week, will have the chance to reclose the gap at the top when they travel to third-place Nice on Sunday night.

It’s been a memorable Champions League campaign so far for Monaco, who finished top of a group containing Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur and CSKA Moscow after recording three wins, two draws and a defeat.

Leonardo Jardim’s side would then play their part in one of the competition’s most exciting matches this season: their last 16 first leg finished 5-3 to Manchester City, but the three away goal scored that night ultimately proved crucial.

Paulo Dybala bemoaned Juventus’ underwhelming first-half showing against Atalanta on Friday night as they were held to a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

“Our approach was wrong in the first half,” said the Argentine striker after the game. “We did a lot better after the break and it was a shame to concede right at the death. It leaves a bitter taste.

“It’s not easy to come away from this ground with a point,” he insisted. “Not many sides have managed it thus far, but we wanted to get the three points and send a message to Roma.”

Dybala laughed off suggestions Juventus had been distracted by their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Monaco.

“We were completely concentrated on this game. We knew that Atalanta were going to be tough opposition. We’ll think about Monaco from tomorrow,” he said. “It won’t be easy.

“They have young players like Kylian Mbappe, who is only 18 years old but has already come so far. We’ll have to make sure we don’t let allow him any freedom. I want to help the team as best I can.”

Last but not least, Dybala urged his team-mates to stay focused as they close in on a sixth straight Scudetto crown.

“We know that the league still needs to be won,” he said. “Roma know that they can reach us. It doesn’t matter that we’d won nine games in a row – our mentality is about winning every single match.”

Massimiliano Allegri urged his side to rediscover their killer instinct after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Atalanta in Bergamo on Friday night.

Juventus conceded late goals at the end of the first and second halves, which meant they had to settle for a point at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

“The two goals summed up the game,” said Allegri after the final whistle. “Juventus don’t concede goals three seconds before half time and again at the end of a match after having turned it round.

“We played well in the second half, but we blew a bit hot and cold before then and that needs to make us reflect before Wednesday, when we face another team like Atalanta who don’t pass the ball round much and get it forward quickly.”

Allegri was keen to stress that Juventus still have work to do if they are to claim a sixth consecutive Scudetto crown.

“We need to remember that the season isn’t over yet,” said the coach. “We have the derby against Torino and a head-to-head against Roma. It would have been said and done had we won tonight, but we couldn’t manage it.

“You have to react and pick yourself up after these blips – you tend to ease off when everything’s been going well and people start talking about winning the treble.

“You only concede that kind of goal when the match is going that way and you don’t win a single tackle in the whole half. We needed to be more clinical in the closing stages to secure the result, because it would have basically secured the title. We’ll get there, but we’ll need a few more matches.”