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A double by Ronaldo in the first half and a goal by McKennie in the second half stretch the Calabrians: beating Roma in the standings
The Juventus beats 3-0 the Crotone in the last postponement of matchday 23 of Serie A and surpasses Roma in third place. The bianconeri start a little contracted and struggle to find space against Stroppa’s team, but they unlock it in the 39th minute with a great header from Ronaldo, repeated minutes later by the same CR7: a corset that allows you Knock down Lukaku to the top of the scorers’ standings. In the second half, Pirlo’s men gained the advantage and closed it in the 66th minute with the claw of McKennie.
THE MATCH
A very important success for the Classification how much for him moral. On one side is the third place conquered against Rome, on the other is the redemption after two performances really to forget and the possibility of leaving behind at least some of the criticism. With the caliber of the rival (who in any case had played a nice trick on him in the first leg and who also plays a very positive game at the Stadium at times), Juve takes home a precious victory, allowing him to confidently look back at the standings, even considering the game yet to be played against Napoli. It goes without saying that taking it out of the fogging period is the norm. CR7, who puts the group on his shoulders and relaunches his ambitions, although now the search for continuity against Verona and Spezia will be fundamental.
Pirlo raises Ramsey from 1 ‘and still relies on the Kulusevski-CR7 pair up front. Stroppa responds by focusing again on Ounas and Di Carmine as an offensive pair in a neat but proactive 4-4-2. The approach of the Calabrians is actually anything but fearsome and almost takes a Juve by surprise who actually does it in the first minutes struggling to be in the field, limiting himself to habitual sterile possession and lacking in ideas. Among the ranks of Juventus you can see some movements without the ball and many outstretched arms: the first real opportunity comes around half an hour and arises from an idea of the usual church, but on his cross Cordaz deflects enough to get Cristiano out of time and make him hit in two steps. Despite the lack of brilliance and the evident lack of creativity, Pirlo’s team manages to pick up the pace a bit in the final part: first De Ligt close to the advantage in the scrum, then Ramsey can be seen swerving in crossbar of Cordaz a good header. It is the prelude to the goal, which reaches 39 ‘, when Alex Sandro rewards an ultra-fast movement of CR7 in the area with a brushed shot, which the Portuguese crown behind the goalkeeper. Cristiano is furious and two minutes into the break he finds the duplication start and end the action with another winning pumpkin, in a beautifulhelp in Ramsey.
Crotone starts over with a fighting spirit, but despite the quality of Ounas and Di Carmine’s desire to fight, he hardly ever manages to see himself dangerously outside of Buffon’s parts. Juve, on the other hand, are much more cunning, but when Chiesa and CR7 come on, opportunities flow, even if the trios are McKennie, good for picking up a fumble in corner developments and punching Cordaz arrogantly. The Texan’s goal allows Pirlo to freeze the game, giving him the opportunity to manage his forces, to find some rhythm to Morata and give the debut in A to Beans and Di Pardo. Ahead are two championship games that are far from prohibitive, but fundamental. Then, it will be time to think about returning to Porto, where everyone’s help will be needed to reverse the result.
THE REPORT CARDS
Church 7 – He’s going through a great moment and even against Crotone he is among the best in the field. When he has space to run outside, it is devastating, but he is also growing in one-on-one and in understanding with his teammates, proving increasingly valuable in different game situations.
Christian 8 – We needed a breakthrough for the team and a great performance from him after some moderate pitches. From the first minutes he makes gestures and spurs to his teammates, a sign of the burden he has on him. Score two goals as a true bomber who put the game on the right track.
Kulusevski 6 – There is no lack of quality plays and sleight of hand, but many times he is very far from goal and struggles to become dangerous. We searched and found little with CR7, the agreement is yet to be perfected.
Lupert 5 – He tries to clench his teeth after a couple of hits, but heroism doesn’t pay off, especially at 1-0, when CR7 is completely lost, leaving him free to hit at a crossroads from the certainly not impossible to defuse trocar. .
Ounas 6.5 – Cheerful and eager from the first moments, he puts quality and imagination on it, standing out among his peers in an evening that is certainly not easy for Crotone.
Messiah 5.5 – Even from him, like from Ounas, some brilliant ideas and some decisive plays were expected, but that never comes. His contribution does not go beyond inaccurate conclusions at a distance.
TABLE
Juventus 3-0 Crotone
Juventus (4-4-2): Buffon 6; Danilo 7, Demiral 6.5, De Ligt 6.5, Alex Sandro 7 (41 ‘st Frabotta sv); Chiesa 7 (41 ‘st Di Pardo sv), Bentancur 6 (25’ st Fagioli 6), McKennie 7, Ramsey 6.5 (31 ‘st Bernardeschi 6.5); Kulusevski 6 (31 ‘Morata 6.5), Ronaldo 8.
Coach: Pirlo 6.5
Crotone (4-4-2): Cordaz 6; Pereira 6, Magallan 5.5, Golemic 5.5, Luperto 5 (1 ‘st Marrone 6); Mesías 5.5, Molina 6 (27 ‘Zanellato 6), Vulic 6, Reca 5.5 (22’ Rispoli 6); Ounas 6.5 (27 ‘st Simy 6), Di Carmine 5.5 (32’ st Riviere 6).
Coach: Stroppa 6
Referee: Marini
Markers: 39 ‘e 45 + 2’ Ronaldo (J), 21 ‘McKennie (J)
Ammonites: Ramsey (J), Danilo (J), Marrone (C), Frabotta (J)
Expelled:
THE STATISTICS
– Crotone is the 78 team that Cristiano Ronaldo has found the goal against in the top 5 of the European championships, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (79) has had more since the beginning of 2000.
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the player who has scored the most multiple goals this season in the top 5 of the European leagues (seven).
– Cristiano Ronaldo had not scored a header double in the League since May 2015, wearing the Real Madrid jersey, on the Sevilla pitch in La Liga.
– Cristiano Ronaldo scored all 18 Serie A teams currently in the competition; in particular, the Portuguese has 13 goals in the last nine games against newly promoted players.
– Weston McKennie with four goals scored has become the best American scorer in Serie A history, beating Michael Bradley by three.
– Weston McKennie (08/28/1998) is the youngest midfielder with at least four goals in this league.
– Juventus played their 250th official match tonight at the Stadium considering all competitions.
– Alex Sandro had not been actively involved in a Serie A goal at the Stadium since April 2019, when he scored in the 2-1 win over Fiorentina.
– Alessandro Di Pardo (07/18/1999) and Nicolo Fagioli (12/02/2001) played their first match in Serie A.
– It was since June 2020 that Juventus had not kept a clean sheet for three consecutive home games in Serie A (the series reached four).
