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At the age of 33, when most footballers are considered way past their prime, Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Italian club Juventus for €117 million in the summer of 2018-19 - after 9 fruitful seasons with Real Madrid.
The Portugal captain arrived in Italy after scoring a record 450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish capital club, having won three consecutive Champions League titles.
Widely expected to hit the ground running for his new club, Ronaldo took time to adapt to a different league, opening his Bianconeri goal-scoring account in his 4th competitive game courtesy a brace in a 2-1 home win in the Serie A over Sassuolo Calcio.
A goal in the 1-1 draw with Genoa made Ronaldo the first player in Europe's big-5 leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France) to amass 400 league goals (84 for Manchester United in the EPL, 311 for Real Madrid in the Primera Liga, and 5 for Juventus in Serie A) .
Another landmark soon followed. Ronaldo's goal from the penalty spot in a 3-0 away win at Fiorentina equaled Johnson Charles' 1957 mark of scoring 10 goals in his first 14 games for the Bianconeri. Ronaldo scored 21 Serie A goals in his debut Serie A season as Juventus won their 8th consecutive Scudetto.
Let us look at the Portugal captain's 3 most dazzling performances for the Bianconeri since he moved to Italy in the summer of 2018-19.
#3 2018-19 Serie A: Empoli - 1 Juventus - 2
After Francesco Caputo opened the scoring at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, Empoli led the seven-time defending Serie A champions 1-0 at the break. With their unbeaten start to the season under threat, Juventus improved after the break as Ronaldo restored parity from the spot on the cusp of the hour mark.
In a scrappy game bereft of too many clear scoring opportunities for either team, Ronaldo let loose a 25-yard screamer from distance 20 minutes from time, which bulged the Empoli net. The Bianconeri held on for the win which kept them top of the league table.
It marked Ronaldo's second Serie A brace, following his 2-goal haul against Sassuolo on matchday-4. It also marked the first occasion when the Portugal captain scored in 3 successive Serie A games.
Also check out: Seria A table Champions league top scorers UCL schedule
#2 2018-19 Serie A: Juventus - 2 Sampdoria - 1
On the last Serie A matchday of 2018, Ronaldo opened the scoring for Juventus in the second minute of their home game against Sampdoria.
Fabio Quagliarella restored parity for the visitors when the 35-year-old Italian forward scored from the spot. The teams headed to the interval with the scores level at one apiece.
As the Bianconeri pushed for the winner in the second half, a Miralem Pjanic corner was deemed to have been deliberately handled inside the penalty box by Sampdoria defender Alex Ferrari. Following a consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), a penalty was awarded to Juventus.
Ronaldo stepped up and calmly slotted the ball past the Sampdoria keeper.
The visitors then thought they had scored an equalizer, only for technology to intervene favorably for the hosts for the second time in the game. The goal was ruled out due to off-side as Juventus survived nine minutes of injury time to hang on for the win and close the year with only 4 dropped points in the league all season.
#1 2018-19 Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg: Juventus - 3 Atletico Madrid - 0 (Aggregate: Juventus - 3 Atletico Madrid - 2)
Trailing 2-0 from the first-leg of their Round of 16 clash with Atletico Madrid in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League, Juventus turned to the Portugal captain for inspiration. And he did not disappoint.
Having failed to muster a shot on goal during the first-leg defeat away from home, Juventus made their attacking intentions clear from the outset when they faced the LaLiga visitors in the second leg.
Giorgio Chiellini's 4th minute goal was ruled out due to a foul by Ronaldo on the Atletico keeper. But the breakthrough was not long in coming.
Midway through the first half, Ronaldo leaped at the far post to head in Federico Bernardeschi's cross as Juventus began their comeback.
With the visitors displaying little attacking verve and looking content to play on the counter, Juventus launched wave after wave of attack on the Atletico goal. After Chiellini's close-range header was tipped over by Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, Ronaldo scored his second of the night with another header, as Juventus drew parity on aggregate score.
As extra-time beckoned, a foul on Bernardeschi led to a penalty for Juventus. Ronaldo stepped up and calmly slotted the ball past Oblak to score his first hat-trick for the Bianconeri. Juventus held on for a 3-2 aggregate win.
The goals were Ronaldo's 23rd, 24th, and 25th against Atletico - the most he has scored against any club during his illustrious career. Ronaldo also equaled Lionel Messi's record of 8 Champions League hat-tricks with this performance.
