Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus bounced back from their Fiorentina fiasco with a 4-1 win over Udinese at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. (More Sports News)
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Andrea Pirlo's side suffered a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to La Viola before the mid-season break, but they kicked off 2021 with a win that ensured the gap to Serie A leaders Milan remained at 10 points.
10 Jan 2021, 23:21 Updated: 11 Jan 2021, 8:37 CRISTIANO RONALDO continues to close in on becoming the highest goalscorer of all time after netting in injury-time for Juventus in a 3-1 home win. Juventus 3-2 Genoa (aet): Debutant Rafia puts Bianconeri into last eight January 14, 2021 admin 0 Comments A much-changed Juve side were a cut above Serie A strugglers Genoa in the first half at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday (January 13), but made hard work of setting up a last-eight tie against Sassuolo or SPAL. Updated: 4 Jan 2021, 15:05 AARON RAMSEY is finally finding his place in the Juventus team after starring in a false-9 style role. It has been far from plain sailing for the Welshman since his 2019.
Ronaldo put Juve ahead in the 31st minute with a fine strike after Udinese's Rodrigo de Paul had seen an effort ruled out by VAR.
Federico Chiesa and Ronaldo then made sure Juve avoided going three consecutive home games without a win for the first time since 2015-16.
Marvin Zeegelaar snatched a consolation for Udinese, but Paulo Dybala had the final say in stoppage time.
20 - Cristiano #Ronaldo has scored 20 goals for the 15th season in a row among clubs and national team. Stratospheric.#JuventusUdinese#SerieApic.twitter.com/dAlcXbDMeG
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 3, 2021Aaron Ramsey squandered a golden opportunity to give Juve a seventh-minute lead, the former Arsenal man firing straight at Juan Musso from inside the six-yard box.
Udinese almost punished Juve immediately, but De Paul's effort was ruled out following a VAR check for a handball earlier in the move.
Ronaldo burst into life shortly after the half-hour, racing into the area and cracking a low shot past Musso for his 13th league goal of the campaign.
Udinese's goalkeeper was beaten again in the 47th minute after Chiesa rolled in from Ronaldo's incisive pass.
A VAR check for handball denied Ramsey a goal five minutes later, while at the other end Jens Stryger Larsen crashed a header against Wojciech Szczesny's crossbar.
Ronaldo grabbed his second 20 minutes from time, coolly steering past Musso with his left foot, before Udinese pulled one back in the 90th minute when Zeegelaar – who had earlier hit the crossbar – lashed in from close range.
There was still time for Juve to add further gloss to a much-needed win, however, with Dybala clipping home with the final kick of the game.
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6 - Cristiano #Ronaldo has scored 2+ goals in 6 matches in Serie A 2020/21, a joint-record alongside Robert Lewandowski in the Top-5 European Leagues. Bunches.#JuventusUdinese#SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 3, 2021What does it mean? Juve back up and running
It could have been very different had De Paul's early strike not been ruled out, but Juve were excellent value for all three points. They had 20 shots – 10 on target – to Udinese's 10 and enjoyed 63.1 per cent possession.
They will need to rely on lady luck if they are to claim a 10th consecutive Serie A title given Milan's healthy lead, but with Ronaldo leading the charge, anything is possible.
Relentless Ronaldo strikes again
He might be 35, but Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down. His first-half strike marked the 15th consecutive season he has plundered 20 goals for club and country.
Ronaldo followed that up with an assist and another goal to complete a wonderful individual performance, and he has now scored twice in six Serie A matches this season, a joint-record alongside Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski across the big five European leagues.
Dybala comes good at the death
Dybala's late goal might just be the confidence boost the Argentina international needs after a difficult start to the season.
The well-taken dink was just his second goal in Serie A this term and came at the end of a game in which he lost possession a whopping 21 times – eight more than any other Juve player.
Key Opta Facts
- Ronaldo has 14 goals from his first 11 Serie A appearances this term. Only in 2014-15 with Real Madrid in LaLiga has he managed more after the same amount of matches.
- Since he joined Juve in 2018-19, Ronaldo has scored the first goal of game in 21 Serie A encounters – more than any other player in the competition during this period.
- Ronaldo has provided 15 assists in Serie A: 14 of them have been served at the Allianz Stadium.
- Matthijs de Ligt has made his 50th appearance for Juve in all competitions.
- Marvin Zeegelaar is the first Dutch player to score against Juve in Serie A since Milan's Clarence Seedorf back in May 2009.
What's next?
Pirlo's men have the opportunity to close the gap to the Serie A summit when they face leaders Milan on Wednesday, while Udinese travel to Bologna on the same day.
41-year-old underlined that beating Sassuolo in their next game on Sunday is every important
TURIN:Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo insists the defending Serie A champions shouldn’t be considered favourites to retain the league title they have clinched for the last nine years, despite ending AC Milan’s unbeaten run.
Pirlo’s side put in an impressive performance on Wednesday to win 3-1 at the San Siro and halt table-topping Milan’s 27-match streak without defeat in the league.
But the 41-year-old underlined that beating Sassuolo in their next game on Sunday is every bit as important as his side’s victory over Milan.
'Whoever is top is always the team to beat, at the moment that’s Milan,' Pirlo told a media conference.
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'We know that we are a team that has won the title for the last nine years and there is pressure to do it again, but I consider the team that is top to be the team to beat.
'It was a great and important victory but if we don’t win tomorrow, it will have been for nothing.'
'Every result must be equal for us,' he added. 'Three points against Sassuolo is the same as against Milan or Barcelona.
'Our desire to get results needs to be the same every Sunday. We need to put together a run of wins and then see where we find ourselves in April.'
Sassuolo are enjoying a superb season and travel to Turin one point behind Juventus as they chase a surprise European spot.
Pirlo's preparation for the game was complicated by three of his defenders – Matthijs De Ligt, Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado – testing positive for Covid-19 in the space of five days.
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'It influences me like all the other coaches,' said the coach.
'Every day it can happen and we must go forward, football must go forward, unfortunately this is a part of life for everyone. We’re thinking about our work.'
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