Serie A: Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo leaves stadium before final whistle after being substituted
Dybala replaced Ronaldo on 55 minutes with the Argentina striker going on to score the winning goal 22 minutes later to keep Juventus top in Serie A.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly left the Allian Arena Stadium on Sunday three minutes before the final whistle, Sky Italia reported. Ronaldo was replaced with fellow forward Dybala in the 55th minute in the Serie A clash against AC Milan. It was the second match in a week that the Portuguese forward was substituted, and it seems he let his frustration known to the team over the same. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo looked glum as he came off and directed some words at coach Maurizio Sarri before heading to the changing rooms.
Dybala, who had come on his place, went on to put the winning goal behind the nets in the 77th to help his side remain top of the table ahead of ahead of Inter Milan.
After the match, manager Sarri was questioned on the same and whether Ronaldo’s actions were disrespectful to the teammates. “Disrespectful to his teammates? Like I said, I don’t know,” Sarri said, as per a report in news agency AFP.
“If it’s true that he left before the end it is a problem to be resolved with his teammates.” “I have no problem with Cristiano, he should be thanked because he made himself available despite not being in the best condition,” said Sarri. “In the last month he has had discomfort in his knee and this is a little problem for him.”
Ronaldo had reacted furiously after been substituted in his team’s 2-1 win against Lokomotiv Moscow midweek which saw Juventus advance to the Champions League last 16.
“The important thing is that he made himself available. If he gets angry when he comes out this is part of the game,” the Juventus coach further added. “It’s only natural a player is going to be irritated about leaving the pitch, especially when he worked so hard to be there. All players who are trying to give their best will have at least five minutes of being annoyed when they are substituted, but a coach would in general be much more worried if he didn’t seem upset.”
(With inputs from AFP)