Ronaldo brace gives Juve contentious win over unlucky Samp
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in Juventus' 2-1 defeat of visiting Sampdoria Saturday to grab the stop scorer spot in the Italian Serie A, while the Turin leaders set a points record at the season's halfway mark. The Portuguese ace fired into the far corner on two minutes and converted a penalty on 65 to go on 14 goals, one ahead of Genoa's Pole Krzysztof Piatek. Samp's Fabio Quagliarella, a former Juve striker, also scored from the spot on 33 minutes for his 12th goal of the season.
- Sports
- Reuters
- Published Date: 12:00 | 29 December 2018
- Modified Date: 05:13 | 29 December 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace, the second goal a contentious penalty, to give Juventus a dramatic 2-1 win over Sampdoria who had a stoppage-time equaliser chalked off following a long VAR review in Serie A on Saturday.
Riccardo Saponara thought he had given Sampdoria a point when he curled a delightful shot past Mattia Perin and was booked for throwing off his shirt as he celebrated.
But, after a delay of nearly three minutes, referee Paolo Valeri ruled that there had been an offside in the buildup.
Leaders Juve reached the season's halfway mark with 53 points out of a possible 57, a Serie A record for a 20-team championship.
Ronaldo gave Juventus the lead after two minutes, collecting Paulo Dybala's pass and cutting inside to score with a low shot.
Fabio Quagliarella levelled in the 33rd minute, scoring for the ninth league game in a row when he converted a penalty awarded after a VAR review when the ball hit the back of Emre Can's outstretched arm as he jumped for it.
Juve's winner also came for a handball although the ball only brushed Alex Ferrari's arm which did not appear to be outstretched.
The referee immediately pointed to the spot but Ronaldo had to wait more than two minutes to take his kick while the incident was reviewed on the pitchside monitor.
The Portugal forward took his tally to 14 goals, making him Serie A's top scorer.