Ronaldo goal wait at an end
Portuguese superstar scores first Juventus goals in 2-1 victory over unbeaten Sassuolo
When the first goal finally came, it couldn’t have been any easier for Cristiano Ronaldo. It took the former Real Madrid attacker nearly 320 minutes to score his first league goal for Juventus and he did it with the simplest of tap-ins. Ronaldo doubled his tally shortly after as the Bianconeri beat Sassuolo 2-1 in Serie A yesterday.
It was Ronaldo’s fourth league match for Juventus since his Serie A record €112 million ($200 million) move from Madrid and the relief on his face was obvious as he tore away in celebration after breaking his duck in the 50th minute.
“I wanted to score, I’m really happy,” said Ronaldo, who had missed several good chances in previous games. “That’s football. What’s most important is to win and to do well. Certainly there was a bit of pressure in general after my move from Real, there was a lot of expectation. That’s life, I’m working well. My teammates are helping me hugely to adapt to this new league.”
His first goal came after Sassuolo defender Gian Marco Ferrari could only head a Juventus corner on to the left post and Ronaldo was waiting to volley in a rebound from less than two metres out.
Ronaldo added a second 15 minutes later when he finished off a swift counter-attack with a precise finish into the bottom right corner.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was denied a hat-trick by a fine save from Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, while he also mis-hit a clear opportunity late on.
Juventus midfielder Douglas Costa seemingly elbowed Federico Di Francesco in the build-up to Sassuolo’s last-minute goal and, as the pair continued to argue, Costa appeared to head butt his opponent.
He was lucky to be shown only a yellow card at first but received a straight red moments later after a video review showed he had also spat at Di Francesco. The Brazil international risks a lengthy ban.
Juventus, who are seeking a record-extending eighth successive Serie A title, are the only team with a perfect record. The defeat was Sassuolo’s first of the season.
Roma paid for their complacency, blowing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Chievo, who are last on minus one after being deducted three points last week for false accounting.
Gonzalo Higuain also got off the mark for his new club but AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at Cagliari.
Germany
Two goals from Mario Gomez weren’t enough for Stuttgart to beat 10-man Freiburg as a 3-3 draw yesterday continued his team’s poor start to the Bundesliga season.
Stuttgart were seventh last season but have just one point from three games, level with Freiburg.
Newly-promoted Nuremberg earned their second point of the season in dramatic style as substitute Virgil Misidjan scored on his Bundesliga debut in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen. Maximilian Eggestein gave Bremen the lead in the 27th minute.