Wrapped up in his parka, all smiles next to Arthur, Cristiano Ronaldo spent his Saturday night on the bench at the Allianz Stadium.
Without its Portuguese star, Juventus got the better of Lazio (3-1) to stay in the race for the title in Serie A. With 7 points behind the domestic leader, the nine-time defending champion is in danger.
But his real goal, at least that of Ronaldo, is elsewhere.
The former Real Madrid has been left to rest by his coach, Andrea Pirlo, because the deadline for Tuesday is crucial.
Juventus must win in the round of 16 return against FC Porto, after their first leg defeat in Portugal (2-1).
Once again, Ronaldo will be Bianconeri's lethal weapon on AC.
“He remained on eight or nine games in a row, we found an agreement for this weekend, it was really planned, justified Pirlo on the status of substitute for Ronaldo on Saturday.
Cristiano brings something more, the boys did the right thing without him. "
There is "Cristiano" and there are "the boys".
As if he was a God among men.
It is true that the quintuple Ballon d'Or, 36 years old, was not spared.
He already has 2,571 minutes on the clock this season.
Only Danilo (2.851) does better at Juve.
He is, unsurprisingly, the most decisive player in the Old Lady, with 27 goals and 4 assists.
It's better than last season at the same stage, where he peaked at one goal and one assist less.
Good wine, bonus, we know the adage.
Ronaldo's top 7 goals for Juventus
Ronaldo, the return match specialist
But Ronaldo's statistics and CV are no longer enough to hide the misery in Turin.
In the 2015-16 quarter-finals, his Real Madrid lost 2-0 in the first leg to Wolfsburg.
On the return, Ronaldo carried his team with a hat-trick.
In the round of 16 2018-19, bis repetita: defeat at Atlético in the first leg (2-0) and treble in the return (3-0).
The magic formula did not work to avoid the Lyon trap last season, Ronaldo having scored "only" two goals in the second leg (1-0, 2-1).
Since joining the Italian club, CR7 has scored 7 of his club's 8 goals in the knockout stage.
All this to never see the last four of a competition that he won three times in a row between 2016 and 2018, and of which he is the top scorer in history (135 goals).
Did you say frustrating?
!
️ # forzajuve # championsleaguepic.twitter.com / By50J1GG28
- Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 8, 2021
If some see it as a lonely Ronaldo, others see it as a designated culprit and "a little selfish".
"He has trouble with the ideas of Andrea (Pirlo), condemned the former striker Antonio Cassano in the columns of
Corriere dello Sport
.
They (Juventus, editor's note) signed him to win the Champions League and are doing worse than before.
For me, it remains a failure over the past three years. "
It is true that with two Serie A titles, the former Mancunian can have the feeling of duty accomplished on Italian soil.
But his transfer to 100 M € had a barely hidden goal for Juventus: to re-lift the cup with big ears, whose prestige has only swelled since the last coronation in Turin in 1996. For that, it will be necessary to go through FC Porto certainly not flamboyant in recent weeks.
“This match is a final,” warned Andrea Pirlo.
It does not take more to motivate Ronaldo.
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