Lennon: Celtic are capable of beating Juventus

Mar 5, 2013 4:20:00 PM

The Northern Irishman believes his side can restore their pride with a win in Italy whilst Georgios Samaras remains hopeful of overturning the three-goal first-leg deficit

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is targeting a shock victory over Juventus in Wednesday's last-16 second-leg encounter in Turin.

The Old Lady all but sealed their progression to the quarter-finals in the first leg, ruthlessly consigning the Scottish side to a 3-0 defeat at Parkhead.

And, though Lennon conceded that the Bhoys require a "minor miracle" to overturn that deficit, he believes a win by a lesser margin is a genuine possibility.

“We are capable of winning the game and that's what we'd like to do,” he told reporters. “We have to get a foothold in the game. If we create as many chances as we did at Celtic Park then we'll be in for a good night.

“Over 90 minutes, Juventus deserved to win. They are a class side with fantastic players but we played well and were unfortunate not to score.

“It's a fantastic occasion for the club, we're playing the Champions of Italy in Turin. I'll tell the players to enjoy it, enjoy the stadium and the atmosphere, and not to be intimidated.

“The pressure is off, so we need to try and restore some respectability. If we can win in Italy it would be a fantastic achievement by this team. To qualify would take a minor miracle.”

Lennon also confirmed that striker Georgios Samaras will be fit in time to feature, and the Greece international has set his sights on causing huge upset.

“It's vital that we score the first goal to give us hope in the tie," he said.

“We'll try to play the same way as we did in Glasgow, but this time we need to convert the chances we create. We have to take risks.

“A win first of all would be a success but as a team we want to make history and break records. I always say in football it is never over until the last second.

“Anything can happen in football.”

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