Cristiano Ronaldo thanked his Juventus team-mates for helping him through a dry spell after he scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over Sassuolo.
The 33-year-old failed to find the net in his first three Serie A matches following a €112million transfer from Real Madrid in July before finally breaking his duck on Sunday.
He scored from close range after 50 minutes to break the deadlock and then followed up with a second 15 minutes later, angling in a drive to secure the points for Massimiliano Allegri’s men.
Juventus may not be playing with any beauty, but they continue winning, with their latest triumph a 2-1 defeat of Sassuolo, who were second in Serie A ahead of the match.
It was clear from the first half that Juventus only really cared about delivering a pressure-relieving goal to Cristiano Ronaldo, and although it took 50 minutes, he was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring with a close-range finish.
A brilliant counterattack led to Juventus’ and Ronaldo’s second before the Italian champions lost some cohesion — spurning several good chances to add to their goal tally — to the anger of manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Ronaldo finally scored, and that can only be a good thing. As well as easing the pressure, it means Juve can get back to playing for the team as opposed to only passing to one player in the hope he will score and be happy.
Douglas Costa’s dismissal and general behaviour were poor. He could have received a red card earlier, but after he was eventually sent off for spitting in the face of Federico Di Francesco he will be fined and face a suspension of several games going forward, including the showdown against Napoli on Sep. 29.
