Sports
Maurizio Sarri Hails ‘Extraordinary’ Cristiano Ronaldo After Juventus Beat Roma
Soccrates Images/Getty ImagesMaurizio Sarri praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s physical and mental condition after the forward scored yet another goal in Juventus’ 3-1 win over AS Roma in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man has netted an incredible seven goals in four matches so far in 2020, and Sarri hopes the…
Soccrates Images/Getty Images
Maurizio Sarri praised Cristiano Ronaldo‘s physical and mental condition after the forward scored yet another goal in Juventus‘ 3-1 win over AS Roma in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man has netted an incredible seven goals in four matches so far in 2020, and Sarri hopes the form can carry him to a sixth Ballon d'Or award, per Omnisport (h/t Goal):
“Ronaldo is in extraordinary physical and mental condition. He is continuing at an impressive pace and has extraordinary skills.
“He is very well physically. In terms of explosiveness, he is good. He takes great care of the details.
“Ronaldo is a champion. We want to help him win the sixth Ballon d'Or. It would make us all happy.”
When congratulated for bringing the best out of the Portugal international, Sarri deflected the praise with a joke:
Juventus News – Juvefc.com @juvefcdotcom
Sarri: “Congratulations on how I am using Ronaldo? You have to give congratulations to his mother who made a boy like this…”
🤣🤣🤣 MISTER
Ronaldo opened the scoring in Wednesday's quarter-final clash, setting Juventus on the path to another win. Rodrigo Bentancur and Leonardo Bonucci added to the lead before half-time, and a Gianluigi Buffon own goal was the only response the Giallorossi could muster after the break.
It was Juventus' fifth straight win in all competitions. The Bianconeri have lost just twice all season long, qualifying for the next round of the UEFA Champions League with ease and taking a four-point lead over Inter Milan in the Serie A standings.
Per Sarri, the defending champions are getting used to winning, although the domestic competition is tougher this campaign: “Winning is becoming normal. I'm happy for the team. But we don't have to look at the numbers because it will be more difficult this year. We will certainly have to do better than previous years if we want to be competitive in the league.”
Soccrates Images/Getty Images
The former Napoli and Chelsea boss is starting to figure out his strongest lineup, putting faith in Adrien Rabiot since the turn of the year. He was a standout playing next to Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield on Wednesday and appears to have nailed down a spot in the starting XI at this point.
The likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Paulo Dybala have also been excellent of late, but Ronaldo has stolen the show with his incredible form. The 34-year-old went through something of a dry spell earlier this season―he had a five-match run with a single goal in October and November―but has been amazing in recent weeks:
BBC Sport @BBCSport
It's 13 goals in 10 games for Cristiano Ronaldo 💥
Juventus saw off Roma to reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia.
https://t.co/E8JXwZOri2 https://t.co/I6pGBhmCZF
The veteran has shown no signs of slowing down and continues to find success, regardless of his playing partners. Sarri has rotated Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain and even experimented with playing all three together, but nothing appears to faze Ronaldo, who can't seem to do anything wrong at the moment.
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