Serie A
Result: Juventus 3-1 Udinese
Date: 15 December 2019
Venue: Allianz Arena
Cristiano Ronaldo looks to have discovered his scoring touch once again for Juventus, who cruised to a 3-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday afternoon.
Bianconeri boss Maurizio Sarri made four changes to the side that beat Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League, as Paulo Dybala, Rodrigo Bentancur, Blaise Matuidi and Leonardo Bonucci came back the starting line-up.
The hosts had a bright start as Ronaldo opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a first-time strike towards the bottom corner after William Troost-Ekong's attempted clearance fell in his path.
Juventus were applying the pressure and creating chances after that but Udinese goalkeeper Juan Musso kept the visitors in the game, after denying Gonzalo Higuain and Dybala around the half-hour mark.
However, there was no denying Ronaldo his brace with eight minutes remaining of the first stanza after the Portuguese superstar fired home a low shot beyond Musso after his late run inside the box was picked up by Higuain.
There was enough time for a third goal as Bonucci extended the advantage with a header that the came off the underside of the crossbar just before the break.
Udinese were a different side coming from the break, as Kevin Lasagna had a chance to pull a goal back ten minutes after the break with a first-time strike that was pushed away by Juventus shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon.
With Bianconeri getting close to seeing the game out, Sarri made a double change in the last minutes, as Federico Bernardeschi and Matthijs came on for Dybala and Bonucci, who had sustained a head injury.
Ronaldo had a chance to get his hat-trick with five minutes remaining after unleashing a powerful drive from just outside the box but his effort, with Musso beaten, came off the inside of the near post.
The visitors finally got a consolation goal in stoppage time thanks to powerful low drive by Ignacio Pussetto but Bianconeri had done enough to claim three points on the day.
