Cristiano Ronaldo's 3 best performances for Juventus
At the age of 33, when most footballers are considered way past their prime, Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Italian club Juventus for €117 million in the summer of 2018-19 - after 9 fruitful seasons with Real Madrid.
The Portugal captain arrived in Italy after scoring a record 450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish capital club, having won three consecutive Champions League titles.
Widely expected to hit the ground running for his new club, Ronaldo took time to adapt to a different league, opening his Bianconeri goal-scoring account in his 4th competitive game courtesy a brace in a 2-1 home win in the Serie A over Sassuolo Calcio.
A goal in the 1-1 draw with Genoa made Ronaldo the first player in Europe's big-5 leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France) to amass 400 league goals (84 for Manchester United in the EPL, 311 for Real Madrid in the Primera Liga, and 5 for Juventus in Serie A) .
Another landmark soon followed. Ronaldo's goal from the penalty spot in a 3-0 away win at Fiorentina equaled Johnson Charles' 1957 mark of scoring 10 goals in his first 14 games for the Bianconeri. Ronaldo scored 21 Serie A goals in his debut Serie A season as Juventus won their 8th consecutive Scudetto.
Let us look at the Portugal captain's 3 most dazzling performances for the Bianconeri since he moved to Italy in the summer of 2018-19.
#3 2018-19 Serie A: Empoli - 1 Juventus - 2
After Francesco Caputo opened the scoring at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, Empoli led the seven-time defending Serie A champions 1-0 at the break. With their unbeaten start to the season under threat, Juventus improved after the break as Ronaldo restored parity from the spot on the cusp of the hour mark.
In a scrappy game bereft of too many clear scoring opportunities for either team, Ronaldo let loose a 25-yard screamer from distance 20 minutes from time, which bulged the Empoli net. The Bianconeri held on for the win which kept them top of the league table.
It marked Ronaldo's second Serie A brace, following his 2-goal haul against Sassuolo on matchday-4. It also marked the first occasion when the Portugal captain scored in 3 successive Serie A games.
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