Old Lady’s European goal on hold again
SEATED on the pitch, face buried in his hands, Cristiano Ronaldo was possibly regretting his move to Juventus as he faced elimination in the Champions League quarter-finals despite scoring five goals in the last three knock-out matches.
On Tuesday, in Turin, the five-time trophy winner gave the Bianconeri a short-lived lead against Ajax, only to see Donny van de Beek level six minutes later and Matthijs de Ligt head a second-half winner.
Ajax won 2-1 at the Allianz Stadium for a 3-2 aggregate and received the compliments of Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri and president Andrea Agnelli.
The Turin side also exited in the quarter-finals last year, but battled hard against Real Madrid, beating them 3-1 in the away return to surrender 4-3 on aggregate as Ronaldo struck three times for the Spaniards and went on to lift a third straight trophy.
The Portugal ace had also scored in Amsterdam and netted a stunning hat-trick to overcome Atletico Madrid in the last-16, but on Tuesday was too often isolated up front against the brisk Dutch youngsters. “They deserved to progress to the next round. And also the result of this evening,” Allegri said about the youth-loaded squad steered by Erik ten Hag, who ousted Real in the round of 16.
Criticism of the Bianconeri was ferocious in Italian newspapers, with only Emre Can, Ronaldo and Moise Kean, who came on for an indifferent Paulo Dybala, earning sufficient marks.
“Apocalypse” headlined Corriere dello Sport, calling the trophy an “endless obsession” for Juventus, who won their second in 1996 and have lost a record seven finals. Turin’s Tuttosport titled “Grande Ajax” above Allegri’s quote: “I stay on.”
The home debacle seemingly did not dent the club’s confidence in the tactician, who lost two finals since arriving in 2014, but has always won the Serie A title and the Italian Cup.
On Saturday, Juve are at home to Fiorentina and need a point to secure an eighth successive Scudetto, which they cannot miss given the massive lead on chasers Napoli. Ronaldo, meanwhile, must be hoping to find more motivation from his teammates to help him fuel his hunger for trophies.