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29.07.2020 » Cagliari 2-0 Juventus. The head is not there anymore!
After seeing Juventus getting crowned Italian champions in the past weekend, we all expected to see the Vecchia Signora rotating a few key players and eventually also reducing the itensity of their football on the pitch. Nevertheless, the quality drop was huge this Wednesday tonight and Juve were beaten by 2-0 against Cagliari, who were coming off 2 straight losses. Cristiano Ronaldo played the whole game, but unlike most of his previous fixtures, he couldn't find the back of the net and now seems to have definitely lost the race to the Serie A topscorer and the European Golden Shoe, especially after seeing Ciro Immobile scoring his 35th league goal earlier today and setting the difference between the two players in 4 goals. The chances for the Portuguese forward to still win these individual awards are now extremely slim and it might be better to simply put your money on the best online casino bonus Canada. Next Saturday Juventus will host AS Roma for their final Serie A fixture and it's highly lilely that Ronaldo will be given some rest...
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Cagliari vs Juventus
Cagliari 2-0 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Cagliari:
A matter of focus and determination...
As expected, Maurizzio Sarri changed multiple players in his starting lineup for today's match against Cagliari, in part due to injuries, but also to deal with natural fatigue issue among some of his pupils. The most worrying case is obviously Paulo Dybala, who got diagnosed with a thigh muscle strain after picking up an injury last Sunday in Juventus' 2-0 win over Sampdoria. The Argentine star will also miss his team's next game against AS Roma this upcoming Sunday and he'll be trying to recover in time for the major clash in the Champions League against Olympique Lyon, scheduled for August 7.
Tonight, Sarri gave Gianluigi Buffon the starting spot in goal and played a back four with Cuadrado, Rugani, Bonucci and Alex Sandro. In midfield, Simore Muratore was given his 3rd Serie A appearance for the club and had both Pjanic and Bentancur playing next to him. In the last third of the pitch and without Dybala around, the attacking trio was formed by Bernardeschi, Gonzalo Higuaín and of course Cristiano Ronaldo.
At this stage of the season and with the Serie A's title decision already over, it was natural that Sarri's main priority for a game like tonight's was basically resting some of his more fatigued players and not having anyone else injured for the upcoming Champions League tie. However, getting the team back to a winning mentality should have also been a priority since the team hasn't won two games in row in their last 7-game sequence.
Not good enough for a champion...
The game itself wasn't very entertaining. As soon as it started, it was clear to everyone that the hosts were a lot more determined in proving something rather than the visitors. Thefore, it wasn't a big surprise to see Cagliari going one goal up very early in the game...
The opener took place around the 8th minute of the first half, when a well organized attacking play from Cagliari allowed Paolo Farago to find plenty of space on the right side of the pitch and send a strong cross to the far post. His ball met the 25-year old Federico Mattiello, who immediately assisted Luca Gagliano in the center of the box. The 20-year old forward had no difficulty in beating Buffon from where he was standing and by doing so, he scored in his first-ever Serie A goal.
The second goal of the night arrived just before the half-time break. A fast counter-attack play from the hosts led to a good opportunity for Giovanni Simeone, who managed to control a high ball just before striking the ball from outside the box and surprising Buffon. The experienced Bianconeri goalkeeper was caught off guard and the truth is that he should have done a lot better when attempting to block his opponent's shot. However, his hands were weak and Cagliari extended the lead to 2-0.
Juventus went through the entire game shooting at every chance they had, but they never managed to create real troubles to Cagliari until the referee's final whistle. One game left in the Serie A now and it's AS Roma this next Saturday.
Juventus line-up vs Cagliari:
Goalkeeper: Buffon
Defenders: Cuadrado, Rugani, Bonucci, Alex Sandro
Midfielders: Pjanic, Muratore, Bentancur
Attackers: Bernardeschi, Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Cagliari
|
vs
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Juventus
|
2 |
Goals |
0 |
11 |
Shots |
34 |
5 |
Shots on goal |
10 |
1 |
Corner kicks |
9 |
13 |
Fouls commited |
12 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
1 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
33% |
Ball possession |
67% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is on August 1, against AS Roma. You can watch Juventus vs AS Roma, AC Milan vs Cagliari, PSG vs Lyon, Manchester United vs LASK, Arsenal vs Chelsea, and Bayern Munich vs Marseille, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs AS Roma kick-off time (01-08-2020):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 01:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / whoscored.com / gazzetta.it
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