A superb Cristiano Ronaldo header sent Juventus three points clear at the top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory at Sampdoria on Wednesday as Gianluigi Buffon matched the league appearance record.
Paulo Dybala’s exquisite volley put the champions in front before Gianluca Caprari levelled, but a remarkable leap and towering header from Ronaldo on the brink of halftime proved decisive.
Ronaldo was denied his second goal by the offside flag late on, before Samp scorer Caprari was sent off in stoppage time when he was shown a second yellow card.
TOWERING: Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo, top, scored an impressive header. Picture: Luca Zennaro/AP.
"The whole team showed the right attitude," Ronaldo told Sky Italia. "It was a good goal and I am glad to help the team with another three points.
"I had problems with my knee for a month, but that has gone now and I feel good physically."
SPECIAL NIGHT: Veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Picture: Massimo Pinca/BackpagePix.
It was a special night for Buffon as the veteran goalkeeper equalled Paolo Maldini’s record of 647 Serie A appearances and set a new Juventus Serie A appearance record of 479 games, one more than Alessandro Del Piero.
Juventus now top the table with 42 points, although second-placed Inter (39) have a game in hand, while Sampdoria are 17th on 15 points.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/Cristiano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CristianoRonaldo hangs up in the air and scores a header goal for Juventus vs Sampdoria. pic.twitter.com/d7d0Vldr32
— Borak Bola (@borakbola)
Juventus head to Saudi Arabia this week, where they will face Coppa Italia holders Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh on Sunday ahead of the winter break, which runs until the first weekend of January.
Reuters