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Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing for his second full season at Juventus, having joined the Italian champions last season. Ronaldo’s £88 million move from Real Madrid to Juventus was a huge move and it has been so far, so good for the Portuguese.
He may not have reached his intended targets during his debut season, but the 34-year-old still finished the season with two major trophies – the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italia.
On a personal level, though, things didn’t go according to plan for Ronaldo. The former Manchester United star lost out on the Serie A top scorer gong, which was eventually won by Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella.
The Juventus forward scored 28 goals in all competitions – 21 of which came in the league – and also recorded 10 assists in the process. But with just a couple of days to the start of the 2019-20 season, the Portuguese will definitely be looking to improve on those numbers.
Here are 3 reasons why Ronaldo is likely to emerge as the top scorer in Serie A this season:
#3 Ronaldo likely to play as Juve’s main striker this season
For many years Ronaldo played as a winger who dazzled on the flanks at both club and international level. In his Manchester United days, the Portuguese used to take on his markers, drift in and score wonderful curlers.
However, Ronaldo has altered his game in recent years. His fantastic goal record at Real Madrid was, in part, aided by his transformation from a winger to a predatory in-box forward.
The 34-year-old is likely to be playing as Juventus’ main striker this season. This obviously increases his chances of getting on the scoresheet and in turn increases his chances of scooping the Serie A top scorer gong.
For a player who thrives in this role, Ronaldo should relish the opportunity of playing as the Bianconeri’s focal striker.
With age not on his side, the Portuguese has done well to transform himself from the all-action winger he used to be into a predatory presence in the opposition box. And this should serve him well in the coming season as he aims to emerge top scorer in the Serie A.
#2 CR7 more settled in Serie A than last year
Cristiano Ronaldo may not have had a bad campaign last season but overall, he churned out a sub-par goal-scoring return per his own lofty standards. Not only was he outscored in Serie A, he was also nowhere near the top scorers in Europe.
The trio of Fabio Quagliarella (26 goals), Duvan Zapata (23 goals) and Krzysztof Piatek (22) all outscored the Portuguese in the league, while eternal rival Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe also beat him in the race for the European Golden Shoe.
But to be fair to Ronaldo, he was in new territory and needed time to settle in his new environment. Having now settled in, and with better knowledge of his teammates, Ronaldo is likely to enjoy a more fruitful season in 2019-20.
A more fruitful season means getting back in contention for any award that has to do with goal scoring, especially in the Serie A and the UEFA Champions League.
#1 He’s a proven goal machine
If there’s one thing you cannot take away from Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s the fact that he is a proven goal machine. This is a man who has scored goals for fun wherever he has been. He did it in England and Spain, and is now establishing himself in the Italian top flight.
Ronaldo has already emerged top scorer in the Premier League and LaLiga, and it is only a matter of time before he repeats the feat in the Serie A. He may have lost out on the Goal King award last season, but the fact remains that no player in the Serie A can boast the Portuguese’s goal-scoring pedigree.
With a full pre-season under his belt, this could just be the season that Ronaldo finally explodes in Italy. For a player who has proven several times over to be a goal machine, the Serie A top scorer's gong is definitely within his reach this season.
