Juventus 2-1 Lazio: 5 Talking Points from the game as record-breaking Ronaldo gives Bianconeri the win | Serie A 2019-20
Following a run of three games without a win, Juventus got back to winning ways, with a second-half brace from Cristiano Ronaldo firing the Bianconeri to a 2-1 victory over Lazio.
The first half saw little in terms of goalmouth action, although both sides hit the frame of the goal, with Douglas Costa watching on his header rattled the post in the 12th minute. Ciro Immobile saw a long-range effort beat Szczesny but not the post.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock from the spot when the referee, under instructions from the VAR awarded a penalty after it was deemed that Bastos had handled in the area. The Juventus forward made no mistake from 18 yards.
Just three minutes later, the Portuguese international grabbed his brace, with Paulo Dybala unselfishly squaring for him when faced with Thomas Strakosha in the Lazio goal.
A late penalty for Lazio was awarded when Leonardo Bonucci clumsily brought down Immobile in the area, and the 30-year-old dusted himself up to half the deficit. However, this was not enough to spark a Lazio comeback.
Here, we take a look at five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Juventus take huge leap towards ninth consecutive Scudetti
A shock loss to AC Milan sparked a run of three straight matches without victory for Juventus and for a while, it seemed like the Serie A race was going to go down to the wire.
However, their nearest challengers failed to take advantage of this slip, with Atalanta, Inter Milan, and Lazio themselves all faltering.
The capital side came into this fixture hoping to inject life into their flailing campaign. A win could have put them five points behind the defending champions, but the loss effectively rules them out of the title picture.
With the win, Juventus moved eight points clear at the summit. With just four rounds of matches remaining, Maurizio Sarri's side look all but sure to make it nine Scudetto triumphs on the trot.
#4 Race for Capocannoniere set to go down to the wire
Beyond the title race, another subplot heading into this clash was the running battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Ciro Immobile to be crowned the Golden Boot winner of the campaign.
Both men have been the standout players of their respective sides this season and have each gone on impressive scoring runs several times during the campaign.
Whereas the Lazio man has hit a dry patch in recent weeks, his Portuguese rival has grown from strength to strength. Ronaldo came into this fixture just one goal behind the Italian international.
His second-half brace took him to 30 goals for the season, one clear of Immobile but Lazio's late penalty offered the former Sevilla man a chance to draw level. Despite Ronaldo's consultations with Szczesny, there was no stopping the Lazio number 17.
With their goals, the pair entered the record books as the first men to score 30 goals in the same Serie A campaign. A friendly discussion between the two at the end of proceedings showed that they are ready to go all the way to be the Golden Boot winner.