CRISTIANO RONALDO relied on one of his trademark penalties to notch for the first time in a month and seal Juventus a point on Sunday.
An unusually tumultuous November saw the winger fail to score while fighting a niggling knee injury.
Ronaldo hit his first goal in four games in the Turin drawCredit: Getty – Contributor
But his timing in breaking his duck amid another less-than convincing performance was perfect as Juve took a 2-2 draw at home to Sassuolo in Serie A.
The league leaders would have hoped for better against the mid-table side but Leonardo Bonucci’s long-range opener was cancelled out by two goals, each spectacular for different reasons.
Former Chelsea winger Jeremie Boga found time and space inside the area to delicately chip Gianluigi Buffon just two minutes after the opener.
And Sassuolo were ahead at Allianz Stadium moments after the second-half restart thanks to a calamitous error from the veteran goalkeeper.
A wayward clearance from Matthijs de Ligt fell to Francesco Caputo whose daisy cutter rolled right over the flailing Buffon and tamely into the net.
Juve weren’t to be beaten easily however and the in-form Paulo Dybala won a penalty when tripped on 67 minutes.
Stepping up was Ronaldo but the Portuguese star’s powerful finish into the bottom corner couldn’t keep the Old Lady top of Serie A after Inter Milan beat SPAL 2-1.
The 34-year-old desperately needs to hit a run of form having now just scored seven goals in 16 appearances in 2019/20, far from his typical best.
In fact there were few Juventus players escaping recriminations after the loss with Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Emre Can and Aaron Ramsey guilty of failing to take their chances, the Welshman fluffing a late opening in a cameo off the bench.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
