Ranieri wary of Chelsea

Pa
Thursday 11 December 2008 12:00 GMT
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Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri fears former club Chelsea as he waits to see who his team will meet in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

A less than impressive performance last night against BATE Borisov saw Juve secure top spot in Group H with a goaless draw in Turin.

The Bianconeri will meet either Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Lyon or Arsenal in the last 16 when the draw is made next week, and Ranieri believes Luiz Felipe Scolari's men would present the toughest test.

"The strongest would have to be Chelsea," he told Sky Italia after the game last night. "But if we have to face them at some stage we might as well eliminate them at once.

"It depends on you how you are at the time. If you are in form and your opponents are not having chances to win, names don't matter."

Juve only needed a point against BATE to secure top spot and that is what they achieved, but it was anything but pretty at the Stadio Olimpico as the Bianconeri ground out a result.

A missed Sebastian Giovinco penalty early in the second half summed up a night when poor shooting almost cost Juve dear, with Real Madrid drawing level on points with victory over Zenit St Petersburg.

"We tried to win," said Ranieri. "But when you have two results at your disposal the foolish thing to do would be to concede a goal.

"They closed us down very well. We weren't chickens. We created a lot and that's good.

"I'm very happy with Giovinco. Missed penalties happen. He played with personality and was very good."

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