Champions League draw results 2017: Juventus and Monaco to meet in semifinals

Following the scoreless draw on Wednesday against Barcelona, we knew the path to the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff was going to go through Juventus Stadium. Now, we also know the other half of the equation that Juventus will have to pass through on what is hopefully a second visit to the grand final in the last three seasons under manager Max Allegri.

We now there will also be a French flair to Juve’s possible route to Cardiff as well.

After two straight Madrid-based teams were drawn to open Friday’s proceedings, Juventus’ next European opponent was crystal clear. It was just a matter of finding out who would be home first, as Juventus will face Monaco in the semifinals that take place next month. The first leg will be played in Monaco. The return leg will be played a week later at Juventus Stadium in Turin.

To the winner goes the chance to play either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid. No matter what, if Juventus advance to the final, we know where said team will be from and where the game will be played. So we’ve got that going for all of us.

Juventus playing Monaco will put arguably the best defense of the entire tournament this season against one of the most powerful and potent offenses. Like we talked about in the build-up to the draw, this Monaco team isn’t the same one that Juventus saw two years ago in the Champions League quarterfinals. There’s no meh strikers leading the line and a clear defensive mindset to try and rely upon. Monaco are going to attack, attack and then attack some more.

Kinda sounds like what we heard about Barcelona, right?

Good thing guys like Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are around. Those guys are pretty good at the whole playing defense thing.

But hey, if Juve want to beat Monaco over two legs, the same end result will have happened (in a slightly different order, though) — time to play for that wonderfully big trophy with wonderfully big ears.

You guessed it, folks. #ItsTime once again. Time for Juventus to advance to the Champions League final.