Riding on the maiden Serie A hat-trick of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday, Juventus thrashed Cagliari 4-0 in their Serie A match at Allianz Stadium.
The win takes Juventus to the second place in the table as they have 45 points from 18 matches whereas Inter Milan, who defeated Napoli 3-1, are at the top spot with as many points as Juve, but a better goal difference. Cagliari, with 29 points, occupy the sixth spot in the league table.
Despite several attempts, the first half ended without any goal. After the break, in the 49th minute, Ronaldo broke the deadlock putting the hosts 1-0 up in the match.
Cagliari’s defence played the ball across the goal and had to pay the price of a blunder. Ronaldo intercepted the defence to take possession of the ball and burst into the box before firing straight past Cagliari goalie Robin Olsen at the near post.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner converted from the penalty spot in the 67th minute to complete his brace. Paulo Dybala, who was showing some amazing dribbling skills inside the area, was bought down in the box. As a result, the referee awarded a spot kick to Maurizio Sarri’s men and Ronaldo converted it with power and precision to make it 2-0 for the home team.
Late substitute Gonzalo Higuain scored between Ronaldo’s second and third goals to take Juve 3-0 up in the match. And the skipper completed the triple in the 82nd with an assist from Douglas Costa.
Costa played the ball wide to Ronaldo on the edge of the box and the Portuguese forward burst into the box and put the ball into the back of the net, completing his treble.