Do Juventus have any chance of upsetting the odds against Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight?

This is the situation: Juventus have to go to a stadium like the Bernabeu, to play a team as good as this, with a legendary scorer as on form as Cristiano Ronaldo

Football, like life, can come at you fast - and maybe a little too fast for Juventus’ creaking defence.

So much was made of Giorgio Chiellini’s comments on the importance of history and tradition after his side used all of their nous to narrowly knock out Tottenham Hotspur, only for the very next match to see Real Madrid subject Juventus to the same kind of principles.

The competition’s greatest losers - six final defeats, more than anyone else - were once again beaten by the competition’s greatest winners, as many around Real are now assuredly talking of a potential Clasico final and maybe making it three Champions Leagues in a row to make it 13 in all.

It did say much that the prospect of a Juventus comeback from 3-0 down was barely even discussed at the Spanish champions’ pre-match press conference for the second leg. Literally the only mention was Raphael Varane’s concession that “everything is possible in football”.

This, however, is less possible than most.

The lack of discussion about a comeback - something that has been very different, say, to the talk at Manchester City or before Barcelona-Paris Saint-Germain last season - isn’t completely down to the utter assurance that Real always have about this competition.

That assurance is only bolstered by the extreme quality that makes them so good, and in turn makes this task even more difficult for Juventus.

Real Madrid are poised to eliminate Juventus ... again (Getty)

There’s also the fact that this has never happened before. Although first-leg leads of at least three goals have been overturned 11 times in 63 years of the competition, they have never come when a side has lost that first leg at home.

So it boils down to this: Juventus have to go to a stadium like the Bernabeu, to play a team as good as this, with a legendary scorer as on form as Cristiano Ronaldo… and win 3-0 to even force extra-time.

It’s thereby easy to understand why the most pressing issue in the press conference was Karim Benzema’s own lack of form, and whether Real are now outright favourites for the competition above Barcelona.

"It is better for us not to talk about [that]," Zinedine Zidane said. "I am just interested in showing it on the pitch, not talking. As for example, with the performance we put in against Atletico, we could even have lost the game. I cannot explain it, but that is football. You must respect all teams, as anything can happen. But if we are committed from minute one to minute 90 we have a big chance to go through [against anyone].”

Cristiano Ronaldo is in goal-scoring form (Getty)

Really, you could say they have a better chance than that even if they are not so committed. It’s just such a tall order for Juventus.

To indulge what probably amounts to fantasy, though, there are at least some realistic ways it could get close.

If Juventus got an early goal, if Real’s defence suddenly looks a bit suspect without the absent Sergio Ramos…

We’ve heard it all before in the build-up to such games.

Sergio Ramos is suspended (Getty)

We’ve also seen it all before in Real Madrid Champions League games: they can be under pressure, under duress… and then that Hala Madrid song plays up on the speakers as a Ronaldo who had previously been quiet scores yet again.

This is something else Juventus will have to overcome if they even get as far as that.

They’re looking to do the impossible. But, as the first leg emphasised, that is something that only one player in this tie has shown himself capable of.

Ronaldo just keeps on racking up crucial goals, and now has a definitive claim to being the greatest goalscorer of all time… if not necessarily the greatest player.

Juventus need their forwards on top form (Getty)

There is a crucial difference.

It doesn’t make a difference to Real, though. Ronaldo has likely already proven the difference in this tie.

He was too fast for that Juve defence.