Cristiano Ronaldo scored with two clinical first-half finishes to help Juventus to a 3-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday afternoon, and put the Bianconeri back on-track in Serie A.
Juve need a victory after a recent draw with Sassuolo was followed by defeat at Lazio (3-1) last weekend, and Ronaldo was the driving force in an emphatic first-half showing. The 34-year-old struck sweet early finishes with both feet on 9’ and 37’ to make it five goals in his last four matches in all competitions.
Coach Maurizio Sarri expressed his delight over the performance coming after a midweek Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, with particular praise for the front three of Ronaldo, Paolo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain. “At this moment, those three are in good shape and we were facing an Udinese side that doesn’t really keep possession, they like to try long balls,” Sarri said.
“I therefore thought this was a situation where we could afford to have them. As soon as Udinese starting passing it around more, we struggled, so [playing all three] is a valuable option for us, but one we cannot use all the time. Our forwards also worked hard to help the defence and press the opposition for the first 60 minutes. In attack, they did what I asked, which was quick exchanges and passing. It’s the first time that we’ve managed to really attack the game after a Champions League fixture. We played at a high level for a good 60 minutes.”
Ronaldo meanwhile was keen to play down his own performance and look ahead. “The most important thing was to win, although we could’ve had more goals,” he said. “I think this is a good way of playing [with three strikers] and it’s important we must play with confidence. It’s not about individual performances, but how we work as a collective.”
The win means Juventus are level on points with Inter at the top of the table, albeit in 2nd place on goal difference. Ronaldo is 4th in the top goalscorer charts with nine goals, well behind Lazio’s prolific Ciro Immobile who has 17 from just 14 matches.
By Sean Gillen
