Cristiano Ronaldo made his Serie A debut in Juventus’ thrilling 3-2 victory at Chievo.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at the impact of the 100 million euro (£99m) summer arrival from Real Madrid.
BODY LANGUAGE
Ronaldo, 33, was all smiles as he walked out with a young girl mascot, doing some quick squat jumps as he took to the pitch. There were, though, times when he showed some frustration, notably after Chievo had equalised and then taken the lead early in the second half. However, the Portugal forward quickly regained focus – as he always did for Los Blancos. It looked as though Ronaldo would endure more disappointment after eventually being penalised in the build-up to Mario Mandzukic’s late header after a Video Assistant Referee review. The final whistle, however, brought jubilant celebrations with the rest of his team-mates after a hard-earned victory.
LINK-UP PLAY
Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri deployed Ronaldo as an out-and-out central striker, while looking to bring others into the match. The introduction of first Federico Bernardeschi, who would score the winning goal, and then Mandzukic said much about the need for Juve still to find the way to get the best out of their new talisman.
FINISHING
While Ronaldo was not able to mark his Juve debut with a goal, it was not for the want of trying. The first real opening came on 19 minutes, when he dragged a shot wide from just inside the penalty area after being picked out by Paulo Dybala. More opportunities came as the game opened up, including a neat shot on the turn and trademark free-kick, which flew in at an angle from the left, but both times Ronaldo found Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino in top form.
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