26.12.2018 » Atalanta 2-2 Juventus. Ronaldo keeps Juventus unbeaten!
For the second time this season, Juventus dropped points in the Serie A. The Italian champions travelled to Bergamo to face Atalanta and ended up going through a lot of trouble to control their opponent like they usually do, drawing the game 2-2. The Vecchia Signora grabbed the first lead in the first half, but then saw the hosts equalising and turning things around shortly after Rodrigo Bentancur's send-off. With one man less on the pitch, Allegri decided to bring on Pjanic and Cristiano Ronaldo from the bench and it would be the Portuguese who scored the decisive goal in the 78th minute, which allows Juventus to extend their unbeaten run in the Serie A to 18 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Atalanta vs Juventus
Atalanta 2-2 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Atalanta:
The Ronaldo factor
In different season, a different year, this would probably have been the first game Juventus and Massimiliano Allegri would lose in the Serie A. However, the script has changed since Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival, a player who definitely gives his team a lot more than what numbers could tell us.
In today's game, Cristiano Ronaldo jumped off the bench in the 65th minute to replace Sami Khedira and it took him only 13 minutes on the pitch to leave his mark in Bergamo. The former Real Madrid star showed no mercy when he saw a ball bouncing inside the box and headed it in to make it 2-2. It all started on a corner-kick taken by Pjanic, who crossed the ball into the far post to Mario Mandzukic, for the Croatian to then assist the Portuguese forward.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo's 13th goal in the season, his 12th goal in the Serie A. The former Manchester United wonderboy has now scored in 7 consecutive away games in the Serie A, an achievement never accomplished before by any newcomer in the Italy...
Zapata claimed the spotlight
But let's rewind the game a little bit and focus on what happened before Cristiano Ronaldo's goal. Against all odds, Chiellini and Bonuci didn't perform well today and Atalanta's forward Duván Zapata made them look mediocre in several occasions. Definitely a rare sight this season...
Juventus got the first goal right in the second minute of the game following a very clumsy clearance from an Atalanta defender (Djimsiti) and what looked to be a walk in the park, soon turned into a tough battle.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Zapata had Bonucci marking him from behind when he picked up a pass near Juventus' penalty box, rotated extremelly well to get rid of the Italian defender in the process and then gave no chance to Szczesny when he aimed for the low corner and levelled things at one-one. Later in the second half and already after Rodrigo Bentancur having received the red card, Atalanta and Zapata got their second goal on the night following a corner kick from the left.
Fortunately for Juventus, Ronaldo was on the bench and as soon as Allegri put him on the field, we could sense that all he needed was one chance. CR7 scored his first header of the season and he's now one goal behind Genoa's Piatek (13) on the top of the goalscorer standinds in the Serie A.
Juventus line-up vs Atalanta:
Goalkeeper: Szczesny
Defenders: Alex Sandro, Chiellini, Bonucci, De Sciglio
Midfielders: Emre Can, Khedira, Bentancur
Attackers: Dybala, Douglas Costa, Mandzukic.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
---|---|---|
Atalanta
|
vs
|
Juventus
|
2 |
Goals |
2 |
18 |
Shots |
12 |
6 |
Shots on goal |
2 |
5 |
Corner kicks |
5 |
18 |
Fouls commited |
16 |
4 |
Yellow cards |
4 |
0 |
Red cards |
1 |
51% |
Ball possession |
49% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus is on December 29 of 2018 against Sampdoria. You can watch Juventus vs Sampdoria, Inter vs Napoli, Watford vs Newcastle, Watford vs Chelsea, Brighton vs Arsenal, and Leicester City vs Cardiff City, all matches provided from our live soccer game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Sampdoria kick-off time (29-12-2018):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 20:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 19:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 17:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 12:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 12:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 11:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 08:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 07:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 04:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / atalanta.it / goal.com
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