[ad_1]
Cristiano Ronaldo would have promised friends and family that he would score three goals and bring Juventus into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Nothing less may not have been enough. Last month, in the first leg of the knockout rounds against Atletico Madrid, Juventus sank 2-0, giving the advantage to the Spanish team.
Atleti's defenders, Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, scored one goal each and kept the rearguard tight enough to frustrate Juventus all night. Even Ronaldo, who has thrived over the years in major games in Europe, left the field scoreless, having scored seven shots. The February defeat left Juventus to do everything on Tuesday in the second leg.
Ronaldo even attracted the attention of the media during the preparation of the match. According to The Independent, "Cristiano Ronaldo's powers are in retreat," Roberto Mancini, coach of Italy's national football team, said that he "was not doing this. that he had done in the Champions League in the past, "and Business Insider even set five charts showing the truly horrible, the 34-year-old has been this season compared to his incredible level of performance from previous years .
Read more: 5 graphics that show how terrible Cristiano Ronaldo has been in the Champions League this year
But Ronaldo dismissed the critics and produced his best game of the season. He scored from either side of the half and presented a constant threat of attack against a seemingly losing team at Atletico.
It was Ronaldo at his best. He played rhythmically, with attitude, and jumped in the air to throw an incredible header to score the first of the night in the 27th minute of the knockout match.
Look at the goal here:
Or here if you are in another region:
He took his second goal shortly after half-time, in the 49th minute, when another head was judged for passing the line. Juventus fans have become virtuosos in the crowd with Ronaldo, their $ 129.3 million contract from last summer and the man the club has bought especially to win matches like this , alone have brought the team to the brink of defeat, and this was only a goal. far from obtaining a stunning victory.
This third and last goal came in the 86th minute when Juventus was sanctioned by a penalty. And there was only one man who would take the hit.
Ronaldo has shown up and kept his cool, as he has often done over the years, scoring the winning goal in the bottom-left corner of goal. 3-0 – work done. He even made it look easy.
Look at the penalty here:
Or here if you are in another region:
After the match, Ronaldo was informed on Sky Italia that Juventus had never, in all its history, obtained a victory like that of Tuesday.
"Maybe that's why they signed me," was his answer according to Corriere dello Sport, The Times and ESPN journalist Gabriele Marcotti.
[ad_2]
Source link