Juventus bank on Cristiano Ronaldo to end Champions League rut
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Juventus this summer from Real Madrid C.F in one of the biggest deals of the summer. Juventus, in a bid to win the treble this season, splashed the cash to bag the services of the Portuguese forward. Juventus in 2015 and 2017 came close to lift the auspicious UEFA Champions League trophy but were defeated by FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F respectively in the finals.
Juventus have now took a step closer to achieve European success with Cristiano Ronaldo on their side. Ronaldo has been arguably been the best player in the history of UCL. Cristiano Ronaldo has successfully netted 122 goals in just 156 appearances with goals per game ratio of 0.78. Ronaldo not only leads the goalscoring charts but also tops the assists table with 34 assists to his name. Ronaldo throughout his career is known to rise against big teams and prove to be the one who decides the fate of the crucial fixtures in the competition.
The experience Ronaldo brings to this side is enormous as he has won the UCL five times in his career and the Juventus board is convinced that Ronaldo can lead Juventus to European glory. The confidence of the Juventus board can be measured by the fact that they agreed to sign the 33-year-old forward for €112 million.
The beginning of Ronaldo's Juventus chapter may have been shaky and rough as it took him four games (320 minutes) to finally find the back of the net. He ended his rut when he struck twice in a 2-1 win over Sassuolo after drawing blanks against Chievo, Lazio and Parma. Ronaldo's UCL debut for Juventus against Valencia also did not go as planned as he was sent off around the half an hour mark with a straight red card. Ronaldo endured a tough start to life in Turin but with his never giving up attitude he has changed his fortunes netting 8 times and setting up 5 goals in Serie A in just 12 games. Ronaldo also struck his first UCL goal for Juventus against Manchester United which they eventually lost 2-1.
Juventus have started the season in some blistering form as they have garnered a record-breaking 34 points in the starting 12 games with the only setback being the loss to Manchester United. Juventus have been crowned the Serie A champions for the last seven years and look set to lift their 8th consecutive Serie A title. The only obstruction in their way to achieve a treble is the UEFA Champions League and with Cristiano Ronaldo on their side, it now looks well within their reach.