Cristiano Ronaldo opens Serie A account, scores brace for Juventus

Image Courtesy: Reuters

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A goal on Sunday, then went on to make it a brace as he led Juventus to a 2-1 win against Sassuolo, extending the Italian league leader`s winning streak.

Ronaldo had not scored in his first three Serie A games with Juventus, but on Sunday did not disappoint coach Massimiliano Allegri, who had said at a press conference on the eve of the clash that the former Real Madrid forward would score against Sassuolo, as per Efe news.

The Portuguese star made good on Allegri`s prediction when he scored five minutes into the second half after Juve had failed to translate their dominance in the first half onto the scoreboard.

After a 320-minute drought, Ronaldo punished Sassuolo defender Gian Marco Ferrari for bizarrely heading the ball into the post from close range, seemingly trying to clear a corner kick.

Ronaldo collected the ricocheted ball and put it in an open goal, then doubled his tally 15 minutes later on a left-footed shot that got past goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.

He had a few golden opportunities to make it a hat-trick, but it was Sassuolo`s Senegalese forward Khouma Babacar who found the back of the net one minute into second-half stoppage time.

After the win, Juventus lead the Serie A table with 12 points, having a three-point advantage ahead of second-placed Napoli.