Rome:A missed penalty. A series of missed chances. A miserable performance grade.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing seemed to go right in the Italian Cup semifinal match against AC Milan. Fortunately for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, a 0-0 draw earned Juventus a spot in Wednesday’s final against Napoli and Ronaldo now has every reason to be motivated as he chases his 30th trophy for club and country.
Like almost every other player featured in the semifinal return legs — the first two matches of Italian soccer’s restart — Ronaldo showed signs of rust after being inactive for more than three months during the coronavirus pandemic. His attempt off the post early on marked his first missed penalty since January 2019. “He doesn’t miss many penalties.
This one was quite unfortunate and he probably struggled because of that,” Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said.
Ronaldo also appeared to struggle with a positional switch from his usual spot on the left wing to center forward, as evidenced by a grade of only 5 out of 10 in the Gazzetta dello Sport’s report card.
“We discussed it with him and he was completely open to the idea,” Sarri said. “He’s such an extraordinary player that I don’t think it changes anything for him whether he plays five meters ahead or behind. He can play any of the forward positions.” With Gonzalo Higuain likely still unavailable for the final in Rome, Ronaldo could again line up at center forward as Juventus seeks a record-extending 14th Italian Cup title. Juventus is hoping it’s the first trophy of a triple. The Bianconeri hold a one-point lead over Lazio entering the Serie A restart this weekend and are also looking to overturn a 1-0 loss to Lyon in the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League. Napoli, which is also still in the Champions League, is looking to win its sixth Italian Cup.
Named after Naples’ patron saint, coach Gennaro Gattuso will secure himself a spot in Napoli lore if he can bring a title to the soccer-crazy city six months after replacing the fired Carlo Ancelotti. A title could also serve to raise Gattuso’s spirits following the recent death of his younger sister, Francesca, to diabetes. Napoli was in complete disarray when Gattuso was hired in December amid a player mutiny over a forced training camp ordered by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“He’s restored our self-confidence,” Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly said. “In the first three months of the season, I don’t think we wanted to suffer when we were in trouble. “Now we have the ability to suffer when needed and push forward when we have the ball. We still have some work to do but we’re on the right path.” (AP)
