CRISTIANO RONALDO’S shock was clear to see as his Juventus side were smashed 3-0 at home by Fiorentina on Tuesday night – then vowed to come back stronger in the New Year.
The Serie A champions endured a nightmare start and were behind after three minutes then had a man sent off with 18 played.
Cristiano Ronaldo could not contain his shock as Juventus lost 3-0 at home to FiorentinaCredit: AFP or licensors
The Portuguese forward did not have an enjoyable evening as he missed a good chance and had a goal chalked off by VARCredit: Reuters
Ronaldo had a header ruled out by VAR and squandered a glorious chance to equalise for the Old Lady when he was thwarted by Fiorentina keeper Bartlomiej Dragowski.
And two late goals secured Ronaldo’s first defeat of the season – he missed the first Barcelona Champions League game due to his positive coronavirus tests.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, he wrote: “Yesterday, with a poor performance and a result far from acceptable, we closed our scheduled games for 2020, a special year in many particular ways.
“Empty stadiums, Covid protocols, postponed games, long stoppages and a very tight calendar. But this is no excuse for anything.
“We know that we have to give more of ourselves, in order to play better and to win in a more consistent way. We are Juventus! And we simply cannot accept anything less than excellence on the pitch!
“I hope this short stoppage may help us to come back stronger and more united than ever because the season is still far from over and in the end we believe that we will, once again, celebrate with our tiffosi.
“Believe in us, trust our team as much as we trust you, and we will deliver! Fino Alla Fine [Until The End]!”
The Italian press focused in on the pictures of Ronaldo in disbelief as the events unfolded at the Allianz Stadium.
Corriere dello Sport went with the headline: “Juve, that slaps.”
Not only was the defeat Ronaldo’s first of the season, it equalled his heaviest loss since joining Juventus in 2018 – matching a 3-0 Coppa Italia scoreline against Atalanta in January 2015.
In fact, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has not suffered a heavier defeat since a 4-0 El Clasico humbling by Barcelona in November 2015.
It was also a night to forget for £400,000-a-week man Aaron Ramsey.
He was the man sacrificed by boss Andrea Pirlo after just 19 minutes when Juan Cuadrado’s challenge was upgraded from a yellow card to red after a VAR review.
The fuming Welshman booted a water bottle before taking his seat back among the subs for the remainder of the league game.
Dusan Vlahovic’s exquisite early chip, an Alex Sandro own goal and Martin Caceres’ strike condemned Juve to defeat and left them seven points adrift of Serie A leaders AC Milan.
Corriere dello Sport went with the headline ‘Juve, that slaps’
La Gazzetta dello Sport described Tuesday as a horror day for Juve as their title chances took another hit
Tuttosport also went with a picture of Ronaldo with his hands on his head
The result matched Ronaldo’s worst defeat as a Juventus player, matching the 3-0 loss to Atalanta in January 2019Credit: AP:Associated Press
His header into the back of the net was wiped off as his unbeaten start to the season came to an endCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Manager Andrea Pirlo only pockets £1.6million-per-year after taking charge of the club
Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo trains with boxer Gennady Golovkin
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
