Ronaldo back in form as Juve down 10-man Lecce
Sevilla held by Valladolid to 4th straight draw
TURIN, Italy, June 27, (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo is back in form. He set up two goals and converted a penalty to help Juventus beat 10-man Lecce 4-0 and boost its chances of claiming a record-extending ninth successive Serie A title.
Ronaldo had struggled since soccer resumed in Italy.”What’s important is that we continue to get results,” Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said when asked about their increasing advantage at the top of the table.
“We struggled at the beginning and then we managed to get going at the end of the first half. But I saw a good mentality because even when the match was over, we still continued to attack.”
Lecce remained in the relegation zone but is level on points with Genoa, which occupies the last position of safety.
Lecce started brightly but its chances of getting anything from the match diminished when defender Fabio Lucioni was shown a straight red card for a last-man challenge on Rodrigo Bentancur, leaving the visiting side in 10 men for nearly an hour.
“Until the sending off the match was balanced,” said Lecce coach Fabio Liverani, who also bemoaned the number of players he is missing through injury.
“Maybe if we had had every player available I could have made different moves. At the moment I have a maximum of 14 players available. But I am sure that with a bit of fortune, getting some players back, we can have our say in matches against direct rivals.”
Juventus scored all of its goals after the red card and in the second half, but struggled to break down the visitors.
Ronaldo had several chances but sent an overhead kick past the left post and somehow headed over an empty goal from two yards out. However, the Portugal international set up Juve’s opener eight minutes after the break as he cut the ball back to Paulo Dybala who curled into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.
Ronaldo then got on the scoresheet himself with his second penalty in as many matches after he was tripped by Luca Rossettini.
Ronaldo also set up Juve’s third in the 83rd minute, back-heeling the ball for Gonzalo Higuaín to score shortly after coming off the bench.
Matthijs de Ligt headed in a Douglas Costa cross two minutes later to cap a great night for Juventus. In Madrid, Sevilla drew with Valladolid 1-1 for its fourth straight setback in the Spanish league, missing a chance to retake third place from Atlético Madrid.
Lucas Ocampos converted an 83rd-minute penalty kick to salvage the tie, the fourth consecutive for Sevilla since it returned from the coronavirus break with a win in the Seville derby.
Kiko Olivas opened the scoring for Valladolid in the first half at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.
The result kept Sevilla in fourth place, one point behind Atlético Madrid. Atlético has won three straight and is unbeaten after the pandemic break.
“We really needed this win,” Sevilla forward Suso said. “We dominated and had our chances, but the ball didn’t go in. It’s tough when the other team stays in the back like that.” Sevilla had resumed with a 2-0 win against rival Real Betis in the city derby, but it drew three straight since then - against Levante, Barcelona and Villarreal. Valladolid also won in its first match after the break and was winless since, with two draws and a loss at Atlético Madrid. It moved to 14th place with Friday’s draw.
Olivas got on the board with a header after a long cross from a setpiece in the 25th minute. Ocampos equalized from the penalty spot after a handball by a defender inside the area.
Valladolid nearly retook the lead when an 87th-minute close-range shot by Rubén Alcaraz prompted a tough reflex save by Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Sevilla’s Munir El Haddadi had a 55th-minute goal disallowed by video review for offside. It took nearly three minutes for the VAR to make the call.
One of Sevilla’s best chances in the first half was a shot by Ocampos that struck the woodwork when the game was scoreless.