This is also with Ronaldo not exactly being the dominant force of nature that he has been in every Champions League round he’s played in for the last, oh, 75 years (give or take).

But, of course, this is different because the bar is raised. Atlético Madrid was most definitely one of the toughest teams Juve could have been drawn against no matter what the current form guide may suggest. And, as a result, we aren’t talking about Juve’s advancement as anything close to a sure thing simply because of who the opposition is. (There’s also that whole “Juventus in the Champions League” thing where nothing is totally routine, so there’s that.)

The bar is set high. We know that. We’ve known that for quite a bit of time now.

So to get to where that bar is located, you must go step by step. And that first step is in just a matter of hours at the same arena where Juventus wants to end its season.

GOOD NEWS

If Juventus wants to grab an away goal or two, I personally feel like that would be a great thing to do against Atlético Madrid.

BAD NEWS

Just go on and get better as soon as possible, Sami. We can make Mallorca jokes later.