Serie A: Ronaldo double vs Crotone keeps Juventus title hopes alive | Match report

New Delhi: After a win over Crotone, Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo said his side made a “nervous start” to the game but the two goals in the first half calmed them down.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-half brace and Weston McKennie’s second-half strike powered Juventus to a commanding 3-0 win over Crotone in the Serie A here on Tuesday. Juventus had suffered a defeat in their previous two games and Pirlo said the nervous start was because of their recent matches.

⚽️⚽️⚽️ Three goals and three even BIGGER points! 👌👌👌#JuveCrotone #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) February 22, 2021

“We made a nervous start, possibly because of recent matches, but our two goals calmed us down and we were then able to manage the game well. It certainly wasn’t our best start: our passing was sloppy, partly due to rushing and partly due to our desire to score an early goal,” the club’s official website quoted Pirlo as saying.

“In any case, it was important to get the three points this evening. We must try to improve our movement. [Alvaro] Morata isn’t at his best and needs time. With Ronaldo up front, we need to develop our play out wide to pick him out in the box,” he added.

https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/status/1363991860876820485

The game had a good ebb and flow to it, with the ball moving across the field with pace. Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 38th minute before doubling Juventus’ lead in the 45+1st minute. McKennie then found the back of the net in the 66th minute, sealing an impressive win for Juventus.

A big three points and we keep going, #𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 ⚪️⚫️#JuveCrotone #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/7cbcTecINS

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) February 23, 2021

Reflecting on the match, Gianluigi Buffon said: “We needed a win, but it wasn’t easy. We found it tough in the first half an hour, but what matters is staying fully focused for the full 90 minutes. The fact that Inter are ahead of us isn’t a surprise; maybe the surprise is the fact that they hadn’t shown what they’re capable of until now.”