Zinedine Zidane reveals why Real Madrid fear Juventus clash in Champions League last 16

Zinedine Zidane has admitted Real Madrid are dreading a last-16 encounter with Juventus in the Champions League, after his side were held to a 2-2 draw by Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night (7 December). Los Blancos finished second in Group F as a result of that tie, and thus could face Juventus, Arsenal, Leicester City, Napoli or Monaco in Monday's draw.

Zidane played for La Vecchia Signora for five seasons before his Galactico switch to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2001, and the Serie A leaders look like the strongest of the possible opponents for Los Blancos in the next round.

"We're going to see who we get on Monday. If you ask me [who I want to avoid], I'd say Juventus for two reasons and that's it. We can't do anything. We'll see who we get," Zidane said when quizzed about his preferences. Real Madrid were knocked out by Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals in the 2014-2015 season.

Real Madrid would have gone into the Champions League last 16 as group leaders with a victory over Dortmund on Wednesday night. However, Los Blancos let a two goal advantage slip away, with Marco Reus scoring an 88<sup>th minute equaliser to give Dortmund top spot in Group F.

Some in Spain have suggested that the Champions League winners may have preferred to finish second, allowing them to avoid the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in the next round.

However, Zidane said: "What we were looking to do was to do everything to go through as group winners. We did everything to have achieved that, but that's how it goes. We won't be dwelling on this. We finished second and we'll find out our opponents on Monday. What the players are doing isn't easy and they must be congratulated. We now have to rest up before Saturday's game.

"We let [Dortmund] off a bit by not converting the chances we created. We managed to get a draw and they finish top and we're runners-up. We gave our all to finish top, but we didn't manage it. I'm very proud of the work put in by my players."