"I'm happy to come back" - Cristiano Ronaldo reflects on his return from injury
What's the Story?
Juventus traveled to the Netherlands to face Ajax in the first leg of their quarter-final encounters in the Champions League last night.
Despite going into the tie as favourites, the Bianconeri were only able to draw the game 1-1 thanks to a stunning diving header from Cristiano Ronaldo who returned from injury.
Ajax were in an inspired form and showed no fear against one of the most decorated and most feared clubs across Europe.
Nevertheless, even though the match reads as a draw, Juventus are technically ahead, thanks to the away goal advantage .
In case you didn't know
A few weeks ago Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a hamstring injury whilst playing for Portugal in his first couple of games for the national team since the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
There was a lot of speculation as to whether the attacker would be fit enough to play in Juventus' quarter final tie against Ajax, let alone start.
However, Ronaldo did manage to recover in time, thanks to relentless muscle training and attentive physiotherapy, and despite missing Juventus' Serie A tie against AC Milan last weekend, he started against Ajax.
The Champions League is where Ronaldo thrives, especially the knockout stages, and last night was no different as the Portuguese started and finished off a move just before half time which saw him score a stunning diving header in the 45th minute.
Despite this heroic, Ajax replied quickly in the opening minute of the second half, proving to be the only other goal in the match.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo took to Instagram, where he has a record 161 million followers, to tell his fans that he was: "Happy to come back and score another goal in this amazing competition. Well done team!"
What's next?
Firstly, Juventus have an away game in the Serie A this Saturday against struggling side, SPAL.
Whether or not Ronaldo plays in this game remains to be seen, nevertheless, given his lack of game time over the last month, he may wish to play at least some part of this match.
However, given that the title is all but won for Juventus who need just a single point to seal it up, Allegri may deem it prudent not to risk Ronaldo's injury flaring up again.
Next, Juventus will face off against Ajax next week Tuesday in Turin, where they will need to play arguably better than they did in the away tie.