Juventus 2-1 SPAL: Juve at top, CR7 scored 725 goals from 1000 games

Juventus 2-1 SPAL - Juve at top, CR7 scored 725 goals from 1000 games
Juventus 2-1 SPAL - Juve at top, CR7 scored 725 goals from 1000 games

Juventus beat SPAL 2-1 at  Stadio Paolo Mazza to stay ahead of Serie A league race, as Ronaldo and Aaron Ramsey scored the goals for Serie A giants.

Ronaldo and Ramsey’s s goals helped Juventus, the defending champion to boost their chances of Serie A win, with the Old Lady currently ahead of fellow title rivals Lazio and Inter Milan in the race for the league title.

After Paulo Dybala had struck the post with a curl, Ronaldo today celebrated his record outing – with his 1,000th for club and country together– with a 39th-minute finish at the end of a move started by Ramsey, with Cuadrado providing the assist.

CR7, 35, met Juan Cuadrado’s cross to score and equal the Serie-A record, shares with Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella. 

Aaron Ramsey added a second for the Serie A leaders in a 2-1 win over SPAL. Ramsey’s delightful execution on the hour mark, in which he chipped the ball over goalie Etrit Berisha after superb work by Paulo Dybala, proved decisive – as Andrea Petagnalater pulled one back for SPAL from the penalty spot.

The victory sees Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus move four points clear at the top of Serie A table, with title rivals Lazio and Inter Milan not in action until Sunday.

Portugal legend CR7, who also struck the crossbar with a free-kick in the closing stages, has scored 16 times during his record-equalling 11-consecutive-game run in the league, as he equalled Gabriel Batistuta’s Serie A goalscoring record. With 36 goals out of 36 games for club and country in current season, Ronaldo will have the opportunity to break the Serie A record goal-scoring record against Inter Milan on Sunday 1 March.

I get the sensation the team is clearly improving, it’s just a pity we don’t kill matches off. It’s good to see we are creating opportunities with a certain degree of consistency, including rattling the woodwork seven times in our last three games.

Maurizio Sarri, manager is not disappointed with Juventus performance

If he continues to improve at this rate, he could play one of the big matches coming up. We have to see how Giorgio reacts to the strain, so it’s not an issue of choosing the right game so much as the right moment when Giorgio is in good shape.

Sarri on Club captain Giorgio Chiellini.

Our objective must be the Scudetto and the Champions League a dream. In life sometimes it’s good to chase your dreams and miss your objectives… The problem with the tournament is that there are very few games in the knockouts and each one can be decisive. It’s a competition that is within reach of 10-12 teams, so whoever wins in the end is not just the best, but also the most fortunate.

Maurizio Sarri, on UEFA Champions League