Ronaldo silent in Juventus' second win
The Portuguese superstar was still unable to open his Serie A account when Juventus defeated Lazio 2-0 at home on the evening of August 25.
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Ronaldo's regretful expression after missing a chance in the match against Lazio. Photo:AFP. |
Goals: Pjanic 30', Mandzukic 75'
Ronaldo showed his desire to score in his debut match at Juventus' home stadium. The Portuguese player had two clear chances to "fire" in the second half but failed. The first was a shot from outside the 16m50 box that went in a tricky direction but was pushed over the crossbar by goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha.
In the second approach, Ronaldo was unlucky when he failed to finish well in front of an open goal. The former Real striker lost momentum after the ball hit goalkeeper Strakosha's hand and bounced out, causing the shot to falter but luckily Mario Mandzukic was there to score the winning goal, making it 2-0.
Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring with a volley from 20 metres, sending the ball low into the far corner. The Bosnian midfielder's goal helped Juventus take the lead in a tight match with Lazio.
The important victory over a big opponent like Lazio helped Juventus to take the lead in Serie A with two wins from two matches, before the remaining teams play. Juventus can also "sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight" when watching Napoli take on Milan in the late match on August 25.
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Ronaldo celebrates with Mandzukic at the second goal. Photo:AFP. |
Ronaldo was deployed on the left in Juventus' 4-3-3 formation, his preferred position at Man Utd and in his early years at Real. However, Ronaldo had little influence on Juventus's playing style as he did not link up with his teammates. While at Real, Ronaldo had a good understanding with left-back Marcelo or Luka Modric, Juventus have not provided similar names.
Ronaldo's silence after the first two Serie A matches has left fans without a chance to celebrate with their idol. This is not a big problem, because Ronaldo does not usually start the season strongly, but when he gets into the groove, it is difficult to stop this striker from scoring.
Starting lineup
Juventus: Szczesny; Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi; Bernardeschi, Mandzukic, Ronaldo.
Lazio: Strakosha; Walace, Acerbi, Radu; Parolo, Milinkovic-Savic; Marusic, Lucas Leiva, Lulic; Luis Aberto; Immobile.
