CRISTIANO RONALDO was ‘happy to be subbed’ for the first time ever, according to Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo.
The Portuguese superstar was replaced by Alvaro Morata with 20 minutes left of Juve’s dramatic 3-2 win over Inter Milan on Saturday but apparently remained ‘happy and smiling’ in the dressing room.
Ronnie gave his side a 24th minute lead – scoring the rebound from his own missed penalty – to set them on the way to a huge three points in their race for the top four in Serie A.
Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for the Italian champions from the spot before ex-Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado put Juve back in front on the stroke of half-time.
But it looked like Juve’s best laid plans were going to be derailed when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur saw red for two yellow cards with 35 minutes left.
Pirlo was forced into a reshuffle as his team went down to 10 and Ronnie was hauled off and replaced by Morata.
But despite his previous angry reactions when being subbed, one of the greatest players of all time was not too fussed this time around.
Pirlo told Sky Italia: “I think it was the first time he was happy to be subbed off.
“We were one man down, and he’d have been chasing shadows. He was happy and smiling in the dressing room.”
Inter’s extra man looked to have paid off when Giorgio Chiellini turned into his own net to make it 2-2 with seven minutes to go.
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Chiellini claimed he was being tugged by Lukaku.
But after video replays, the equaliser stood and it was Chiellini who was booked for holding the Belgium striker.
Five minutes later, though, former Man Utd target Ivan Perisic was ruled to have impeded Cuadrado inside the box.
And the Colombia wideman got up to slam home the decisive penalty.
Marcelo Brozovic then summed up a rare afternoon to forget for Inter in their otherwise superb Serie A campaign.
The Croatia anchorman was dismissed for his second booking, following a late tackle on Cuadrado in the 92nd minute.
Pirlo is under pressure with his side fifth going into the last game of the season.
But the Italian said he is not feeling the heat.
He added: “I haven’t thought about the future. I was only focused on today’s game. We’ll talk about the future later on.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
