Khedira confident Juve can end wait

LISBON - Sami Khedira thinks this could be the season Juventus ends its 21-year wait for a third European title after it won 2-0 at Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves came off the bench to break 10-man Porto's resolve with two goals in three second-half minutes after the host lost Alex Telles to a mindless first-half red card.

While Khedira maintained the last-16 tie is still alive, he said he had a "good feeling" about Juve's chances of winning a first European crown since 1996.

"Sometimes you have a feeling and this year I have a very good feeling, but unfortunately seven or eight other teams have the same feeling," the Germany midfielder said.

"We have to work and go forward with much concentration - and I think we can reach our goal."

Serie A leader Juventus transferred its stellar domestic form onto the European stage with a dominant first-leg display to end Porto's 20-game unbeaten home streak.

Khedira, however, said it is too early to write off the Portuguese side.

"We know football is crazy and anything can happen, as we saw last night in Manchester (as City twice came from behind to beat Monaco 5-3)," he added.

"It's absolutely not over. We're happy with tonight but in three weeks we'll need to be careful as Porto is angry and has nothing to lose."

The victory was Juve's fourth straight European away triumph and it has scored in its last 23 matches in all competitions.

"We played 90 minutes with control and patience, so it's a good result going into the second leg," said Khedira, a Champions League winner with Real Madrid in 2014.

Reuters