Cristiano Ronaldo broke his Juventus duck in his fourth game when he scored twice on Sunday to give them a 2-1 win over Sassuolo in Serie A, although it was marred by a red card for Douglas Costa for spitting at an opponent.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner opened his account in the easiest possible fashion by tapping into an empty net from around two yards in the 50th minute.
Allegri slams Costa for spitting
The Portuguese added another in the 65th minute when he finished off a counter-attack by drilling a low-angled shot beyond Andrea Consigli and into the far corner with his left foot.
After Ronaldo missed two good chances for a hat-trick, Khouma Babacar headed one back in the 90th minute but could not prevent Sassuolo from falling to their first defeat of the season.
Costa became involved in a running feud with Sassuolo midfielder Federico Di Francesco throughout the game.
Douglas Costa was sent off in stoppage time after video cameras caught him spitting at Federico Di Francesco
The Brazilian escaped with a booking for elbowing and then head-butting his rival as they tangled before the Sassuolo goal but was then sent off after video cameras caught him spitting at the same player in another altercation.
Juventus – chasing an eighth successive Serie A title – have 12 points, three ahead of Napoli. They travel to Valencia in their Champions League group opener on Wednesday.
