03.11.2018 » Juventus 3-1 Cagliari. A routine win before the Champions League

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Juventus defeated Cagliari 3-1 this evening in Turin and cemented their Serie A leadership against Inter and Napoli. Cristiano Ronaldo may not have scored tonight, but he assisted Cuadrado for the last goal of the game that helped seal the deal...

After knowing that both Napoli and Inter had won their games convincingly, Juventus had additional pressure to win tonight and keep their rivals 5 points behind on the top of the Serie A standings. Massimiliano Allegri rotated his side a bit as he usually does, which allowed the Bianconeri to play as a unit and dominate most moments of the game. The hosts scored first thanks to a very early goal from Paulo Dybala, but then saw Cagliari reacting and equalising the game in the 36th minute. Nevertheless, they would recover the lead still before the break thanks an unlucky own-goal from Bradaric. In the second half, the Italian champions only secured the win completely when Cristiano Ronaldo assisted Cuadrado for Juventus' third goal in the game. Now all eyes will be on the tie against Manchester United in the Champions League, scheduled for next Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Juventus vs Cagliari
Juventus 3-1 Cagliari - Goals and highlights:

All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Cagliari:

The equaliser wasn't on the script

Juventus played a strong eleven in this evening 3-1 win over Cagliari, with Szczesny in the goal and a back four with Cancelo, Bonucci, Benatia and De Sciglio. Chiellini and Alex Sandro were given some rest and started on the bench. In midfield, Allegri played two of his key players in this area of the pitch, as both Pjanic and Matuidi maneuvered the Bianconeri's machine against Cagliari. Bentancur helped filling the gaps, even though the visitors weren't expected to cause much trouble...

In the attack, the Italian champions played with Douglas Costa, Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo, as Mario Manduzkic is still ineligible due to an ankle injury. There's a good chance he may also miss Manchester United's game next week which means Ronaldo will have to keep playing a slightly different role until the Croatian makes his return to competition.

The game started off the best possible way for the Vecchia Signora, as Dybala broke the deadlock with only 1 minute played in the game. The Argentinian faked a shot with his left foot before tricking two defenders and getting space to finish off the play with his right foot. 1-0 for the hosts and everything seemed to be going the way Allegri had planned. However, the visitors reacted well and would get the equaliser shortly after the first half of an hour, with a good goal from João Pedro.

CR7 added another assist to his stats

Juventus were a bit lucky to find themselves in front just two minutes after Cagliari's goal, since their second goal came off an unfortunate deflection from Bradaric into his own net. Cagliari felt it like a punch in their stomach and the half-time was just around the corner when that happened.

The second half was tailored to be a game of patience, as Juventus knew that a third goal would sentence the encounter straight away and Cagliari weren't exactly desperate to go after another goal right after the break. Nevertheless, it was natural to see Juventus dominating throughout the second half, even though that much-needed third goal only arrived near the end of the game, precisely when the visitors had already decided to take more risks going forward...

In a pure counter-attack play that reminded us the good old days of Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo led the initiative with a run that started behind the midfield line and would end up with the former Manchester United superstar assisting Cuadrado on the left for the Colombian's first goal in the season. It was also Ronaldo's 5th assist for goal in the Serie A this season. 3-1 and mission completed in Turin!

Juventus line-up vs Cagliari:

Goalkeeper: Szczesny
Defenders: João Cancelo, Bonucci, Benatia, De Sciglio
Midfielders: Matuidi, Pjanic, Bentancur
Attackers: Dybala, Douglas Costa, Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus is on November 7 of 2018 against Manchester United. You can watch Juventus vs Manchester United, Udinese vs AC Milan, Real Sociedad vs Sevilla, Manchester City vs Southampton, Chelsea vs Crystal Palace, and Wigan vs Leeds United, all matches provided from our soccer live stream game pages.

Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Manchester United kick-off time (07-11-2018):

Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 04:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 03:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 01:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 17:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 13:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / corrieredellosport.it / washingtonpost.com

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