Cristiano Ronaldo’s Brace Helps Juventus Defeat Lazio 2-1, Sets New Seria A And European Record

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the space of three second-half minutes to help Juventus defeat Lazio 2-1 as they look set to retain the Scudetto with 4 games remaining.

Juventus made no mistake against Lazio who has seen their hopes of winning the title this season fade badly since the restart as they now sit eight points clear at the top after both Inter and Atlanta dropped points over the weekend.

The match which saw Juventus survive an all intense final minute as Ciro Immobile scored from the penalty spot to give Lazio a life back into the game.

Juventus who started the match on the front foot which saw Alex Sandro head against the post in the 11th minute from Mathijs de Ligt’s cross.

Thomas Strakosha in the 35th minute thwarted Adrien Rabiot’s effort over after a surging run from the Frenchman.

Shortly before half-time, Lazio came close to opening the game but was denied by the woodwork when Immobile sent a raucous strike cannoning off the post.

Strakosha also thwarted Dybala following quick feet in the box and Ronald’s rebound saw a goalmouth clearance to maintain parity.

In the 51st minute, Cristiano Ronaldo saw his penalty finish after VAR overturned the decision that Bastos had handled his shot outside the area take him to 50 goals in 61 games in the Italian top-flight since his arrival in Turin making him the fastest player to reach a half-century of finishes since 1995.

3 minutes later, Strakosha was helpless as Dybala won possession in midfield and run towards goal before laying the ball off for Ronaldo to tap in the second goal.

In the 83rd, Ciro Immobile won a penalty after Leonardo Bonucci’s nonchalant defending, the hosts held firm after the mistake as they drew closer to winning the Scudetto.

Opta Facts:

– Cristiano Ronaldo is the 1st player in history to score 50+ goals in Serie A, LaLiga, and Premier League.

-For the first time in their history, Juventus scored at least 2 goals in 11 Serie A games in a row.

-Ciro Immobile is only the 5th Italian player to score 30 goals in a single Serie A campaign, after Giuseppe Meazza (1929/30), Felice Borel (1933/34), Antonio Angelillo (1958/59) and Luca Toni (2005/06).

-Cristiano Ronaldo is the 3rd Juventus player to score at least 30 goals in a single Serie A campaign, after Felice Borel (31 in 1933/34) and John Hansen (30 in 1951/52).

-Cristiano Ronaldo is the fastest player to score 50 goals in Serie A (61 appearances) – among the players who made their debut since 1994/95.

– In the last two seasons, no other player has hit more woodworks than Ciro Immobile in the top-5 European Leagues (14, alongside Lionel Messi).