Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first competitive goals for Juventus on Sunday, with a second-half double that ensured a 2-1 win over Sassuolo to make it four victories from as many Serie A games.
Juventus’ Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his second goal during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Sassuolo on September 16, 2018 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel MEDINA
But there was controversy in Turin as Juventus winger Douglas Costa was sent off late on after being caught on camera spitting at Sassuolo’s Federico Di Francesco.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who arrived amid great pomp and ceremony following a 100-million-euro ($117 million) deal from Real Madrid, tapped in from barely a yard out after a goalmouth scramble on 50 minutes.
The 33-year-old added a second 15 minutes later following a counter-attack orchestrated by Emre Can as the defending seven-time Italian champions moved three points clear of Napoli.
“I’m happy. I worked hard and I knew that the goals would come,” said Ronaldo.
“I thank my teammates who really helped me and allowed me to adapt to Italian football.”
Ronaldo — Real Madrid’s record all-time goal scorer — showed his frustration, however, kicking the post as he missed two more chances.
“This is football. The important thing is that the team wins. I was a little tense with all the talk after my move from Real Madrid and not scoring, so there were a lot of expectations, but I thank my teammates for supporting me throughout.”
Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar headed in a consolation goal for Sassuolo in injury-time as the side from Modena fell to their first defeat of the season.
Juventus are the only unbeaten side after Napoli inflicted a first loss on Fiorentina on Saturday with a 1-0 win ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Red Star Belgrade.
Sassuolo are third with seven points.
Bolstered by five-time winner Ronaldo, Juventus begin their quest for a first Champions League title since 1996 at Valencia on Wednesday.
“The Champions League is my favourite tournament,” said Ronaldo, who scored 15 goals in the tournament last season. “It’s a very difficult group, we know that we can do well and Juve must focus on being the best.”
– Roma, Inter confidence dented –
Roma’s confidence was dented ahead of their daunting midweek trip to Champions League holders Real Madrid, as bottom club Chievo came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.
Stephan El Shaarawy and Bryan Cristante put Roma, who lost to AC Milan before the international break, firmly in command at half-time.
But Chievo, beaten 6-1 by Fiorentina last time out and on minus points after being deducted three points by the Italian football federation for false accounting, battled back in the second half.
Valter Birsa pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute, with Polish striker Mariusz Stepinski sealing a point for the club from Verona seven minutes from time.
“This was a game we had under control, we should have killed it off. This can’t happen against Real,” said Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco.
The Roma coach added: “We’ll be going out to challenge Real Madrid on Wednesday. We mustn’t lose our heads, even if these results destabilise us.”
Roma are eighth with five points from four games — already seven points adrift of Juventus — and also behind city rivals Lazio who won at Empoli with Marco Parolo scoring the only goal.
Inter Milan slipped to 14th with a shock 1-0 home defeat by Parma on Saturday ahead of their European opener against Tottenham at the San Siro.
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