Cristiano Ronaldo - Official: November 2020

Sunday, 8 November 2020

Pirlo confirms Ronaldo injury scare for Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo had to come off the pitch in Juventus’ draw at Lazio with a suspected injury, which Andrea Pirlo has now confirmed.

Pirlo has confirmed reports stating that Ronaldo had to vacate the pitch in Juventus’ 1-1 draw against Lazio with an ankle injury.

The 35-year-old turned in Juan Cuadrado’s cross in the 15th-minute of the game to put the visitors ahead. It was his sixth goal of the Serie A campaign and seemingly set the team on route to victory in Rome.

Ronaldo proved to be a constant thorn in the Lazio defense and was unlucky not to score again after hitting the bar before Pepe Reina superbly denied him.

But that proved to be the least of his worries upon suffering a nasty fall on his right ankle before limping off in the 76th-minute.

Now Pirlo has confirmed Ronaldo’s ankle problem but refused to share too many details at this stage.

“Ronaldo is a key player not only for us but for all the teams where he played, he had an ankle problem and he was forced to leave,” the Juve boss told DAZN.

Cristiano will probably undergo medical tests in the upcoming hours to determine the extent of the damage on his ankle.

But the fact he seemed surprised by Pirlo’s decision to take him off suggests it may have been more of a precaution above anything else.

Ronaldo will certainly hope that’s the case ahead of the international break, where Portugal will need him for a triple header starting with a friendly against Andorra on Wednesday.

Paulo Dybala, meanwhile, replaced the five-time Ballon d’Or winner but was powerless to prevent Felipe Caicedo from scoring an equalizer for Lazio.

“We played a great game, they never had a shot on target,” continued Pirlo.

“Championships are won if we take care of every detail, we mismanaged the ball in the final ten seconds and they scored the equalizer.

“The head is the most important thing, if you go on the pitch with a not positive attitude you do bad performances. Too bad for the result we deserved more,” he added.

“We lack malice and desire to achieve these results, there were no signs we would allow a goal, we have to give something more.”

Ronaldo hands special request to Juve to target PSG star

On special request from Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus are likely to go after a player who is also wanted by Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

It was at Real Madrid that Cristiano Ronaldo reached the peak of his powers and established himself as arguably the best in the world.

The Portuguese made extensive individual and collective accomplishments during his nine years at Santiago Bernabeu. As talented as he is, his success was made possible by playing alongside some of the world’s finest talents.

With the intention of helping the Italian side to European glory, something he did with the Spanish giants on four occasions, the 35-year old wants the club to sign one of his former teammates.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Angel Di Maria is the player who is wanted by him at the Allianz Stadium, according to Todofichajes.

Ronaldo arrived at Juve with the aim of leading them to Champions League triumph but has been unsuccessful in doing so in his two previous seasons at the club.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner feels more quality is needed in the squad and he believes Di Maria’s experience could prove a much-needed asset in accomplishing his side’s European dream.

The Argentine winger is entering the final year of his current deal at Parc des Princes, and CR7 wants Juve to bring him in next summer.

Di Maria was a key figure for Paris Saint-Germain in their run up to the finals of the Champions League last season, scoring three goals and setting up seven more in nine games.

The report also claims that Ronaldo and Di Maria have maintained a friendly relationship with each other ever since going separate ways after their time together at Real Madrid.

Lazio vs Juventus: Preview, Betting Tips, Stats & Prediction

Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus return to action on Sunday for arguably their toughest game this season yet away to Lazio.

Sunday’s round of Serie A football begins with a mouth-watering clash between Italian giants Lazio and Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Both sides have endured somewhat underwhelming starts to their respective campaigns and are yet to hit top form. Victory in this match, however, would be a real statement of intent ahead of the international break.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace settled the last encounter between the two teams at the Allianz Stadium in July, earning Juventus a 2-1 win. The Portuguese star had a brilliant comeback against Spezia last weekend, but can he lead the Bianconeri to another victory? Or will Lazio pull something special out of the bag? It should be an exciting affair all the same.

Lazio Form & Stats

Last season’s title challengers haven’t enjoyed the best of starts to the new campaign, winning just half of their six games and losing twice. They only narrowly won their previous game away to Torino as well. In fact, it took a late comeback to salvage a 4-3 victory in Turin.

10 points from six games aren’t exactly what Simone Inzaghi would’ve hoped in his fifth season as manager. That said, Lazio isn’t far away from securing a second top-four finish in a row. And while the first title since 2000 is a big ask, they’re still just six points behind leaders AC Milan in the standings.

This past month, in particular, hasn’t been easy for Inzaghi as he lost several players to positive COVID-19 tests. One of them is reportedly Ciro Immobile, who missed the club’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg midweek. No official word has come out yet on whether last season’s Golden Boot winner will play on Sunday.

Key Team Stats

BTTS in their last five games in all competitions.
BTTS in their last four games against Juventus in all competitions.
Won their last two home games in all competitions.
Over 2.5 goals in their last three league games.

Juventus Form & Stats

The Bianconeri are undergoing a transitional period under Andrea Pirlo and, therefore, results have been mixed at this stage. For now, the target will be to stay in touch with Serie A leaders AC Milan in the standings.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s return, though, has served as a massive boost. It’s clear Juventus are heavily reliant on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has supplied five goals in his three league games so far. In fact, it only took him three minutes to reinsert his influence in the squad during last weekend’s 4-1 win over Spezia after returning from self-isolation.

Alvaro Morata is also supplying goals and appears to have won favor as Ronaldo’s partner as Paulo Dybala works on recovering his best form after suffering an illness. The trio are all in the matchday squad for Saturday.

Successive 4-1 victories over Spezia in the Serie A and Ferencvaros in the Champions League were solid results. But facing Lazio in Rome lies arguably Pirlo’s biggest test as a manager yet.