Ronaldo on target ninth game in a row, Juventus extend lead
GOAL MACHINE Matches club record of David Trezeguet as leaders stay five points clear of Lazio
ROME: Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties to tie a club record by scoring for a ninth straight game as Serie A leader Juventus bounced back from a rare loss with a 3-0 victory over Fiorentina on Sunday.
The penalties came toward the end of each half as Ronaldo matched David Trezeguet’s streak from 2005.
Ronaldo now has 19 goals in 19 matches of this season’s Italian league — only two fewer than he scored in all of last season —- and in 50 Serie A matches since joining Juventus from Real Madrid before last season, he has been involved in 50 goals (40 goals and 10 assists). Matthijs de Ligt added another for Juventus in added time by heading in a corner.
Juventus was five points ahead of Lazio, which moved up to second with a 5-1 rout of Spal and has a game in hand. Inter Milan, which is six points back, could reclaim second place with a victory at Udinese later.
Last weekend at Napoli, Juventus lost only its second match in the Italian league.
Fiorentina, which lost its first match since Giuseppe Iachini replaced Vincenzo Montella as coach last month, remained 14th.
The Viola have not picked up a single point at the Allianz Stadium since the facility opened in 2011. The first penalty was awarded after a shot from Miralem Pjanic hit the hand of Fiorentina defender Germán Pezzella. After the penalty was confirmed by the VAR, Ronaldo coolly slotted a low shot inside the left post before goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski could get there.
The second penalty came after Federico Ceccherini got in the way of Rodrigo Betancur, who was making his way through the Fiorentina defense. Ronaldo again sent his spot kick inside the left post while Dragowski this time leaped in the other direction.
Rocco Commisso, the ItalianAmerican cable TV magnate who bought Fiorentina last year, took issue with the penalties.
“I’ve been here for six months and I’ve never criticised the referees, but I’m now saying that referees cannot decide the games,” Commisso said. “I am disgusted. Maybe the first one was a penalty, but the second one certainly was not. The referees cannot decide the games. They need to let the players do their work on the field.
“Juventus pays huge salaries. They don’t need extra help,” Commisso added. “I am disgusted by what I saw today, but also last week with Genoa and Inter.”
OTHER RESULTS
Ciro Immobile and Felipe Caicedo each scored braces in Lazio’s 5-1 rout of Spal, which dropped into last place. Lazio forward Bobby Adekanye also got on the scoresheet with his first Serie A goal. Meanwhile, eighth-place AC Milan was held to a 1-1 draw by Verona as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was held out due to sickness.