Ronaldo rocket gives Juventus scrappy win at Empoli
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MILAN: Juventus missed Mario Mandzukic and Giorgio Chiellini. They got by with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus came from behind to win at relegation-threatened Empoli 2-1 on Saturday and maintain their unbeaten start in Serie A.
His first was a perfectly placed penalty, and his second was a magnificent 20-yard strike, which his coach Massimiliano Allegri called “a moment of magic.”
“Those types of moves should be shown to kids in football academies rather than boring them with theory and tactics,” Allegri said.
“Tomorrow, so many of them will go out and try to imitate the feat of a superstar: By doing that they will certainly learn more than with abstract concepts.”
Following a midweek win at Manchester United in the Champions League, Mandzukic was out injured along with Emre Can and Sami Khedira. Juventus were dealt another blow when defender Chiellini limped out of the warm-up and was replaced in the starting line-up by Daniele Rugani.
“We knew it would be a difficult match because we were a bit tired. Playing after the Champions League is always very tricky,” Ronaldo said. “But we gave a good response in the second half.
“We gave a great response against Manchester United, and today we showed we’re a great team.”
In Chiellini’s absence there were gaps in the defense, and Empoli took advantage, scoring within half an hour. Afriyie Acquah surged and put the ball into the box, where a deflection took it into the path of Caputo, who curled a delightful effort into the far side of the net.
The goal was only Empoli’s second in nine matches against Juventus in Serie A.
Juventus appeared renewed after the break and they leveled nine minutes in when Ronaldo converted a penalty after Ismael Bennacer fouled Paulo Dybala.
Ronaldo scored what was to prove the winner in the 70th. He collected the ball from Blaise Matuidi, took a couple of steps and looked up then fired a stunning strike into the top left corner from 20 yards out.
“I don’t remember it well, it was a very quick move, and I think it was a really great goal,” Ronaldo said.
Juventus moved seven points clear of second-placed Napoli.
BIZARRE GOALS
Both goals were bizarre as Fiorentina and Torino drew 1-1.
Fiorentina were first in the second minute when Torino defender Lorenzo De Silvestri allowed Federico Chiesa’s cross to bounce off him and into the path of Marco Benassi, who netted the easiest of goals against his old club.
Torino had theur own moment of fortune 11 minutes later when Ola Aina’s effort hit the left post, bounced off the back of Alban Lafont’s head and into the net for an own goal by the Fiorentina goalkeeper.
Josip Ilicic continued to impress as he helped Atalanta beat Parma 3-0.
Ilicic netted a Serie A hat trick last week at Chievo Verona, ending a nine-match winless streak in all competitions for Atalanta. The Slovenia midfielder didn’t score this time but was at the heart of Atalanta’s good play.
Atalanta’s first goal was a rebound of an Ilicic strike, and the third came from his corner kick. He then hit the crossbar.
Published in Dawn, October 29th , 2018
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