Finally, Ronaldo gets off the mark in Juventus win

RONALDO SHOWED HIS FRUSTRATION, HOWEVER, KICKING THE POST AS HE MISSED TWO MORE CHANCES

MILAN: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first competitive goals for Juventus on Sunday, with a second-half double by the Portuguese star giving the Italian champions a 2-1 Serie A win over Sassuolo to make it four victories from as many games. Ronaldo had failed to find the net despite 23 shots at goal in the team’s three wins before this.

The 33-year-old tapped in from barely a yard out after a goalmouth scramble on 50 minutes, and added a second 15 minutes later following a counter-attack orchestrated by Emre Can as the defending seven-time champions moved three points clear of Napoli.

“I’m happy. I worked hard and I knew that the goals would come,” said Ronaldo.

“I thank my teammates who really helped me and allowed me to adapt to Italian football.”

Ronaldo showed his frustration, however, kicking the post as he missed two more chances.

“This is football. The important thing is that the team wins. I was a little tense with all the talk after my move from Real Madrid and not scoring, so there were a lot of expectations, but I thank my teammates for supporting me throughout.”

Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar pulled a goal back for Sassuolo in injury-time. Juventus are the only unbeaten side after Napoli inflicted a 1-0 loss on Fiorentina on Saturday. Sassuolo are third with seven points.

Juventus winger Douglas Costa was sent off late on after being caught on camera spitting at Sassuolo’s Federico Di Francesco, and could face a lengthy ban. Bolstered by five-time winner Ronaldo, Juventus begin their quest for a first Champions League title since 1996 at Valencia on Wednesday.

“The Champions League is my favourite tournament,” said Ronaldo. “It’s a very difficult group, we know that we can do well and Juve must focus on being the best.”