Following
Saturday’s Serie A win over Lazio saw Cristinao Ronaldo scored his 25th league goal
of the season. The prolific Portuguese became the first man since Omar Sívori
in 1960-61 to score 25 goals for the Bianconeri in the Italian top-flight.
Ronaldo has
become the first man in 60 years to score 25 goals for Juventus in a single
Serie A season. He broke the history with his first-ever free kick for the
Italian giants.
The former
Manchester United man reached this mark by finding the goal in Saturday's derby
against Torino, which ended in a convincing victory for the league leaders.
His remarkable
standards have been maintained throughout the current campaign, the goal being
reached 25 times in just 26 appearances in the Italian top league.
Ronaldo is still
trying to chase the Capocannoniere crown in 2020, but is four goal short behind
the leading goal scorer in Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.
However, time is
still on the side of 35 years and he remains a model of consistency.
He has helped Juventus to the top of the table
this season as they chase a ninth straight crown in Serie A.
Title victory
was enjoyed in his first campaign in Italy, but only 21 league goals were
scored by the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
That haul has been added during this period, allowing
him match the same feet as the club legend Omar Sivori from 1960 to 1961.
The Italian star
of Argentine origin scored exactly 25 goals to help Juve win the Scudetto that
season, although he was piped to the highest scorer crown by Sampdoria’s Sergio
Brighenti.
No one has
scored 25 league goals since then; with legendary figures such as Alessandro
Del Piero, Roberto Baggio and Michel Platini all fall short.
Ronaldo's
exploits in front of goal are now expected and are no longer a surprise.
During his record setting career, he has raised
the bar for individual excellence to levels never seen before.
He
has the complete package when it comes to a modern footballer, with seemingly
nothing he can't do. Sometimes, however,
questions were asked about his free-kick record.
For
someone who is above so many standards, Ronaldo's success rate is not the best.
This remained the case during his stay in Turin,
although a dead bullet situation was behind his recent strike.
Ronaldo's
attempt against his local rivals was his first after a direct free kick for the
Bianconeri. His 42 previous attempts had failed to find the back of the net.
The former Madrid man helped to keep Juventus out of sight when they met Torino. The Portuguese added to the previous efforts of Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado as Maurizio Sarri's men finally won 4-1 on the day.
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