Aston Villa goal hero targets another Champions League scalp
Ross Barkley believes Wednesday’s Champions League showdown with Juventus offers Villa the ideal opportunity to kickstart their season.
Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace extended their winless run in all competitions to six matches but Barkley claims there is no sense of panic in the dressing room.
Villa now host Italian giants Juventus aiming to get their challenge for a top-eight finish in the Champions League group stage back on track after defeat at Club Brugge earlier this month.
Unai Emery’s team had won their opening three matches of the competition prior to that setback and Barkley said: “This game is huge for us. If we get that win, it’s four in five and that’ll be massive for us.
“It’ll give the lads a massive lift and the fans as well. The fans were fantastic in the last two Champions League games at home so we’re all looking forward to it.”
Juventus are two-time European champions but Villa have already seen off six-time winners Bayern Munich on their own patch.
Barkley continued: “It’s massive. A similar game to Bayern Munich, a massive club with a huge history, top players and a new manager with a different way of playing.
“We’ll go through that the next few days to approach the game in the correct way. It’s going to be a challenge.
“The Brugge game didn’t go as planned but now’s the time to kick on. We’ve surprised a lot of teams under Unai. If there’s blips, the team gets lifted so there’s nothing to worry about from our side.”