MX23RW : Wednesday, November 14 13:08:43

Cristiano Ronaldo focus

Cristiano Ronaldo focus
© Reuters
Ronaldo scored a stunning goal but his former club came out on top.

A moment of magic from Cristiano Ronaldo was not enough for Juventus to get the better of his former club Manchester United as a late turnaround saw the Champions League clash end 2-1 in the visitors' favour.

Here, Press Association Sport analyses the Portugal star's overall performance.

Creativity

The Portuguese set up the best chance of the first half, pulling the ball back for Sami Khedira to hit a shot against a post. He put in a couple of decent crosses and dragged one shot so wide it almost inadvertently set up a scoring chance for a team-mate. Another good cross in the second half almost picked out Juan Cuadrado for a header, while his lay-off for Miralem Pjanic to shoot could easily have killed United off.

Goal

Ronaldo produced a stunning 65th-minute finish to break the deadlock at Juventus Stadium. It was his first Champions League goal for the Turin club and will be hard to beat. Leonardo Bonucci's raking pass went over the head of Victor Lindelof and as the ball dropped, Ronaldo smashed a superb volley past David de Gea.

Attacking threat

Ronaldo struggled to find space in the first half so when he had a sight of goal, he took it. Twice he let fly from distance and both times the ball fizzed wide. He saw an early volley attempt blocked by Lindelof and took too long on the ball on two occasions when it looked like he could have got a shot off, with Chris Smalling and then Ander Herrera getting in his way. Scored a sublime goal and it looked like he would add a second in the 74th minute but he opted to play the ball back to Cuadrado and the Colombian blazed over the crossbar.

Attitude

Ronaldo was playing against his former club
Ronaldo was playing against his former club (Martin Rickett/PA)

Seems much more relaxed than he was in his Real Madrid days. His frustration with his team-mates was obvious at times at the Bernabeu but he seems happier in Italy. Ronaldo was eager to impress against his former employers and popped up in various positions as he looked to see more of the ball and attack.

Overall

It was an energetic display from the forward and he found himself in plenty of good positions but his wasteful team-mates struggled to pick him out. He produced some nice lay-offs and decent dribbles before a stunning goal to put his side ahead, but ultimately his eighth goal in 14 matches for Juventus counted for little as United came out on top.

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Anthony Martial in action for Manchester United on November 3, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Juventus1211102681834
2Napoli1291226131328
3Inter Milan1281322101225
4Lazio127141814422
5AC Milan126332116521
6Roma125432215719
7SassuoloSassuolo125432017319
8Atalanta BCAtalanta125342314918
9Parma125251215-317
10Fiorentina124531810817
11Torino124531715217
12Sampdoria124351615115
13CagliariCagliari123541216-414
14Genoa124261726-914
15SPALSPAL124171119-813
16Bologna122461118-710
17Empoli122371221-99
18Udinese122371118-79
19FrosinoneFrosinone121471025-157
20AC Chievo VeronaChievo120391030-200

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