SAN FRANCISCO, December 14, (THEWILL) – Cristiano Ronaldo’s lethal prowess from 12 yards was once again a plus for Serie A giants Juventus as the Portugal star’s late brace of spot-kicks secured a 3-1 win at Genoa after the hosts levelled the scores.
In midweek, Ronaldo also netted two penalties as Andrea Pirlo’s charges resoundingly saw off Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League. In his 100th Juve appearance at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, he repeated the feat to put down a resilient Genoa side.
The visitors briefly believed they had got off to a brilliant start as Adrien Rabiot bundled in at the back post following Leonardo Bonucci’s header across goal. But, goal celebrations were short-lived as it did not escape notice that Rabiot used his hand to guide the ball over the line.
That initial scare aside, Genoa did a good job of restricting Juve’s flow of chances for the remainder of the first half. The champions’ only other moderately promising move came in the 24th minute and saw Weston McKennie drag a shot wide which Ronaldo attempted to meet at the far post.
In the 57th minute, Paulo Dybala eventually breached Genoa’s resistance as he latched on to McKennie’s flick-on from the right flank and jinked away from a defender before slotting into the bottom-right corner.
However, to their credit, Genoa did not let their heads hang after going behind and swiftly levelled. Stefano Sturaro ghosted in at the back to tuck in Luca Pellegrini’s teasing cross from a tight angle.
Another Juve goal was disallowed just past the hour due to an offside in the build-up to Ronaldo’s tap-in. Yet, the former Real Madrid star was not to be denied from 12 yards, coolly slotting in to make it 2-1 after Nicolo Rovella’s woeful attempt to tackle Juan Cuadrado in the box was penalised.
The Juve superstar then completed the scoring as a result of Mattia Perin clumsily fouling Alvaro Morata following a teasing pass into the area by Pellegrini. And, that was how it ended.
There will not be much time for either team to dwell on this result, as Juve host Atalanta in a potentially tricky test on Wednesday, while Genoa welcome Milan to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris the same day.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
