RONALDO QUICK OFF MARK FOR JUVENTUS

CRISTIANO RONALDO made Juventus fans wait only eight minutes before scoring his first goal for the club in a traditional preseason friendly against their B team yesterday. Ronaldo finished with his usual confidence and poise after latching on to a looping pass from attacking midfielder Federico Bernardeschi. The 33-year-old took one touch to cushion the ball and then casually thumped it into the left corner. Ten minutes later he pressured Riccardo Capellini into an own-goal on the way to a 5-0 win for the first team. The annual friendly is held on an estate owned by the family of Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli in the village of Villar Perosa and gives fans the chance to get close to their heroes. As per tradition, the match was called off when fans ran on to the pitch in the 72nd minute. Juventus fans gathering to watch the five-time Ballon d’Or winner held up banners hailing their new superstar. Ronaldo (above) stunned Madrid fans last month when he joined Juventus for an Italian league record fee of £100million. The Portugal international is likely to make his competitive debut in Juve’s first league match at Chievo Verona on Saturday. Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Madrid in 2009, and became the Spanish club’s all-time leading scorer with 451 goals in 438 matches. He helped Madrid win four Champions Leagues titles — beating Juventus in the final in 2017 — and also won La Liga and the Copa del Rey twice. Juventus have won Serie A seven times in a row but have fallen short in Europe. Since winning a second European Cup in 1996 they have lost five finals in a row, but hope Ronaldo can be the man to break that run.