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Juventus’ first season with Cristiano Ronaldo in their squad is coming to an end. Although the Bianconeri still have a Serie A game to play, the crown is already secured as the they registered their eight successive league triumph back in April.
The former Real Madrid superstar played a crucial role in Juventus’ cakewalk towards the domestic league title. With 21 goals and eight assists in the league this season, the Portuguese ace won the Serie A Most Valuable Player of the Year accolade.
However, in the Champions League, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to inspire the Old Lady as they were dumped out of the quarter-finals at the hands of a high-flying Ajax side which in turn cost Massimiliano Allegri his managerial post at Juve.
Below are the four reasons why Ronald’s first season in Italy will go down as flop.
#4 Failure to win the domestic double
From 2014-15 to 2017-18, Juventus have completed the domestic double, winning both the Serie A and the Coppa Italia. Although Juventus did secure the league title for the eighth successive season, their failed attempt to win the domestic cup competition despite having Ronaldo in their ranks, will go down as a failure.
The Old Lady suffered a quarter-final exit after an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta. Despite being in the starting line-up, Ronaldo looked a shadow of himself and couldn’t inspire an underperforming Juve side.
Ronaldo was poor in the attacking third and never really looked dangerous. The 34-year-old attacker looked shaky from the start against Atalanta and never get going with the pace of the game. Despite playing two matches in this season's Coppa Italia, Ronaldo failed to score and looked a lost man in the field.
Also see : Serie A News, Real Madrid Transfer News
#3 Dip in goalscoring form
In the latter part of his Real Madrid days, Ronaldo became a terrific box player and pounced on almost every opportunity he got. He made a habit of scoring 40 plus goals in almost every campaign for Los Blancos.
In his first ever season in Italy, Ronaldo has netted 28 times for Juventus, with only one game remaining. Although he has averaged almost 5.6 shots per game, his wasteful finishing in front of goal have cost Juventus several times during the course of the season. Recently released stats also reveal that Ronaldo has been the most wasteful player in the Serie A this season, with as many as 16 big chances missed.
If any player scores 28 goals in their first ever season in Italy, it would go down as an excellent campaign, but when the man in question is Ronaldo, he is certain to be judged on his previous statistics as he has set the bar so high for himself and others.
#2 Champions League elimination
Juventus have been knocking on Champions League glory as they came so close to winning it in the last few years. The Italian champions have lost two Champions League finals in the last five years and lacked the cutting edge to bring back the trophy to Turin.
Juventus signed Ronaldo only to win Europe’s most prestigious competition for the first time since 1996 as they have been dominating the domestic competitions for nearly a decade.
Although Ronaldo did inspire them to cross the Round of 16 hurdle with a sensational hat-trick against Atlético Madrid to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, Juventus' premature elimination from the quarter-final stage at the hands of a young Ajax side ruined Ronaldo's season.
Although Ronaldo did manage to score in the both legs of the quarter-final tie, his failure to guide them through to Champions League glory have raised several eyebrows in Italy, given the amount of money Juve spent to get him on board.
#1 Out of contention for Ballon d’Or
Ronaldo has been always there or there about when it comes to be in the contention to lift the most prestigious personal accolade in football - Ballon d’Or, with the Portuguese winning it five times in the last 11 years.
However, Ronaldo’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or this year is very slim, with Juventus going out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals..
The Portuguese talisman has been outscored by his arch-rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona, with the Argentine wizard having had a 50-goal campaign. On the other hand, the emergence of the Liverpool trio of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané has pushed Ronaldo way back in the contenders' list to go on and lift the prestigious award this year.
The chances of Ronaldo lifting his sixth Ballon d’Or accolade seems very little and probably this is the first time in recent years that he might also end up outside the podium.
