A dry spell that stretched for the best part of two seasons finally came to an end on Saturday as the Portuguese fired past Salvatore Sirigu.
Cristiano Ronaldo vowed to start scoring free-kicks on a regular basis again after breaking a losing streak that had endured for almost two years.
The former Real Madrid star might have built up a reputation for his prowess at dead-ball situations, but Juventus fans had been left waiting to see those talents up close.
In 42 attempts Ronaldo had never managed to score a free-kick for the Italian side, a run of misfortune that has had little effect on his otherwise excellent numbers – Saturday saw him reach 25 Serie A goals for the season – but gnawed away at the notorious perfectionist as each effort went awry.
This weekend finally saw the striker hit the target, beating Salvatore Sirigu in the Torino net to put Juve 3-1 up in the Turin derby.
And after the game, which eventually finished 4-1 in the hosts’ favour, Ronaldo admitted that his goal came as a huge relief.
“I really needed that free-kick goal so I could get some confidence back,” he explained to Sky Sport Italia.
“We knew it would be a difficult game, but we worked hard, won and are now putting pressure on Lazio. We achieved the objective today.
“It doesn’t matter who scores goals, as long as the team wins. We’re all in good shape and will try to win against Milan too, which is another difficult match.”
Another man glad to see Ronaldo rediscover his scoring ability from set-pieces is coach Maurizio Sarri, who confessed that he was shocked to find out how much that run had vexed his charge.
“I honestly didn’t think it was [a problem] but at the end of the match, he came to me and said ‘finally’,” Sarri told reporters, while additionally heaping praise on Ronaldo’s strike partner Paulo Dybala.
“I never had any doubts about Dybala,” he added. “It’s true he didn’t score much in the championship last year, but if you take the season two years ago, he scored a lot. He’s just had an unlucky season.
“I’ve always told him what I think about how he should train and how he should play. And he tells me what he thinks.”‘
Goal
