Last Updated: March 14, 2021 7:59 pm
Cristiano Ronaldo sent a clear-as-day message to his critics this evening, after netting the 3rd goal of a fine hat-trick versus Cagliari.
Juve cruise
Juventus made the trip to Sardinia a short time ago, for their latest Serie A outing.
The Bianconeri headed into proceedings desperate for all 3 points, in a bid to keep pace with rampant table-toppers Inter Milan.
And, when all was said and done this evening, Andrea Pirlo’s men did their part.
A scintillating opening 45 minutes saw the visitors put themselves firmly out of sight by the half-time whistle, as star man Cristiano Ronaldo ran riot.
The 36-year-old opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, powering home a fine header from Juan Cuadrado’s pinpoint corner:
Cristiano Ronaldo powers in a header from the corner! 💥
A trademark leap and an emphatic finish to give Juve the lead ⚫⚪ pic.twitter.com/kzC8CXV5rX
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) March 14, 2021
And CR7 was back at it again with 25 minutes gone, driving through the hands of Alessio Cragno from the penalty spot.
Then, remarkably, with a full 15 minutes remaining in the first-half, Ronaldo bagged his hat-trick. A flowing Juve move eventually saw the Portuguese picked out by Federico Chiesa, with Ronaldo having made no mistake with a powerful left-footed effort:
That’s a first half HAT-TRICK for Cristiano Ronaldo! 🎩
Looks like he’s heard the criticism since Juve’s shock Champions League exit 👂 pic.twitter.com/oMvvnmtLki
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) March 14, 2021
Giovanni Simeone did manage to pull one back for Cagliari on the hour-mark, but the damage had long been done, as Juve climbed to within a point of 2nd-placed AC Milan.
CR7 hits back
As outlined above, meanwhile, the Old Lady’s star man, in the process of notching the 57th hat-trick of his storied career, took full use of the opportunity to respond to his critics this evening.
Ronaldo was of course heavily targeted by fans and the media alike during the week, on the back of an anonymous showing en route to a shock Champions League exit for Pirlo and co., at the hands of Porto.
This evening, though, the 36-year-old sent a message right back, as showcased below:
Post muto #Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/RzgJeSDQzA
— 🤍Annamaria🖤 (@Anna_1897) March 14, 2021
Ronaldo’s latest trio of strikes also guided the former Real Madrid man a full 4 goals clear at the top of the Serie A top-scorer charts.
Romelu Lukaku moved onto 19 for the season versus Torino this afternoon, but Juventus’ star man now sits on 23, well on his way to a first-ever Capocannoniere crown.
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
Source: 101greatgoals.com
