Fans react as Ronaldo bags a hat-trick of assists in Juventus-Napoli clash
Serie A table-topping Juventus went head-to-head with second-place Napoli on Saturday in a game which saw Massimiliano Allegri's side take home another three points.
Despite being known for his goal-scoring abilities, Cristiano Ronaldo replaced goals with assists last night as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was involved in all three of his team’s goals against Napoli.
The goals came courtesy of Dries Mertens, Mario Mandzukic and Leonardo Bonucci, who benefited from the 33-year-old's presence on the field.
"Ronaldo is enjoying his football, he has integrated very well and he loves an assist as well as a goal," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia. Despite the fact that Ronaldo missed opportunities to score himself, Allegri has no complaints and thinks the Portuguese put in a great display.
"His precision in the passing moves is exceptional. I think this was his best match of the season."
"He had some exceptional passes tonight and it's all about finding him in the right way.
"I thought tonight and the first half-hour against Valencia represented his best performances of the season so far."
The 58th minute sending off of Mario Rui after he received a second yellow card for a challenge on Paulo Dybala saw Allegri's men coast through an easy win. The manager himself, however, was not impressed with his team's nonchalance after the marching orders.
He said, "Once Napoli went down to 10 men, we stopped playing, and that made me angry."
"We ran a big risk on Jose Callejon's chance and they could easily have equalised."
"We need to be sharper. Playing out from the back, we misplaced a pass and conceded a goal."
Table toppers Juventus will look to secure their eighth title in a row, currently standing at 21 points from seven games, six points clear of Napoli.
Fans have since taken to Twitter to laud Ronaldo's form since arriving in Italy: