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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

JUVENTUS

Juventus need luck after last four draw: Marotta

Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta says the Italian champions will need luck to make the Champions League final after coming up against three "powerhouses" in Friday's last four draw.

Juventus need luck after last four draw: Marotta
Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta says the Italian champions will need luck to make the Champions League final. Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Juventus qualified for the semi-finals for the first time in over a decade on Wednesday thanks to a 1-0 aggregate win over Monaco following a scoreless second leg in the principality.

The Turin giants are now in the hat alongside defending champions Real Madrid, their fellow Spanish giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich – all of whom have won the title once each in the past four years.

On paper, the odds are stacked against Juventus reaching their first final since 2003 when they succumbed to AC Milan after a penalty shoot-out at Old Trafford.

Marotta, speaking to Sky Sport, said: "There are three powerhouses in there with us but we'll give it our best shot, aware of the fact that they are on a different technical and financial level to us.

"We're fourth favourites in that sense but you never know.

"We have to see the scudetto and the Italian Cup as our real targets. In the Champions League we must be realistic and recognize that there are different values in play, but with a spot of luck who knows."

Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, meanwhile, said the Turin giants have to believe they are capable of making it to the final.

"This is where it starts to get interesting and we have to keep dreaming," he said.

"Obviously there are three top teams in the semis but Juve are capable of matching them.

"Bayern went and crushed Porto after losing the first leg. They're a magnificent side but they haven't become that overnight.

"Then of course Barcelona and Real Madrid are two of the biggest sides in European football as well.

"Whoever we get, we'll make sure we're totally focused on the task and put on our best display."

Juve's quarter-final feat came in the absence of influential French midfielder Paul Pogba, who limped out of the 3-0 last 16, second leg win over Borussia Dortmund with a hamstring injury.

But although he is set to be sidelined for a further three weeks, Marotta said Pogba could return sooner than expected.

"The doctors say he'll be ready in around three weeks but he's young and may be able to recover more quickly than other players," he added.

Juventus face city rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole on Sunday as they close in on another Serie A title.

The reigning champions hold a 15-point lead on both Lazio and Roma with seven games remaining, and hold head-to-head tiebreakers on both, so could win the league this weekend if results go their way.

Juve will also face Lazio in the Italian Cup final in Rome on June 7th.

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FOOTBALL

Danish cup final stopped after fans break virus rules

The Danish Cup final was interrupted for almost a quarter of an hour because fans refused to comply with the social distancing rules inside the stadium, police said.

Danish cup final stopped after fans break virus rules
Fans of Aalborg during the match at the Blue Water Arena in Esbjerg. Photo: Claus Fisker/Ritzau Scanpix
The two finalists, Aalborg (AaB) and SonderjyskE, were each allocated 750 tickets for the match in Esbjerg on Wednesday evening.
   
During the first half, “the referee had to suspend the match for up to 15 minutes, when the AaB fans refused to stay in the designated seats and huddled together in violation of the Covid rules,” Sydjylland police said on Twitter.
   
Pictures show members of the Aalborg staff unsuccessfully encouraging their supporters to return to their designated seats.
 
   
 
Between 40 and 50 of the fans were expelled from the ground and put on a bus and sent back to Aalborg with a police escort.
   
The match resumed after 14 minutes and ended in a 2-0 victory for SonderjyskE, who won the competition for the first time.
   
The police also tweeted that they arrested some fans for letting off flares.
   
The increased crowd for the match represented a loosening of Denmark's earlier coronavirus rules limiting attendance at a football match to 500 with a minimum distance between them of two metres.
   
On Tuesday, the Danish government said it would allow 500 fans into each  section of the stadium and that would have to keep one metre apart.
   
In Copenhagen, up to 10,500 fans will be able into Parken, Denmark's largest stadium which can hold 38,000, FC Copenhagen club communications manager Jes Mortensen told AFP on Tuesday.
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