Massimiliano Allegri Blames Bad Luck for Cristiano Ronaldo's Goalless Start at Juventus
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri says that Cristiano Ronaldo has not been getting "the rub of the green" in his first few weeks for the Turin club.
The Portuguese superstar joined Juve from Real Madrid for €100m in the summer but has thus far been unable to continue his prolific goalscoring form, failing to find the net in each of his first three Serie A games.
Speaking after the 2-1 win at Parma on Saturday, Allegri also said that the different demands of Serie A made it more difficult for players to score goals at the same rate as La Liga.
"Italian football presents different problems and it takes time," Allegri explained, quoted by ESPN. "He’s not getting the rub of the green at the moment either – the ball is not bouncing right for him or he’s shooting just off target.
"Serie A is a league where the teams defend carefully. I don’t want to say that it’s better than other leagues in Europe or not. Let’s just say that the teams are very strong in defence and the coaches are very good.
"They study every match to try not to concede space to the other teams."
Ronaldo scored 40 or more goals in a La Liga season on three occasions, but no player in Serie A has scored more than 36 in a single campaign.
"Everyone puts Serie A down but it’s very difficult for a player to score 40 goals a season," Allegri added. "[Gonzalo] Higuain did it once, but was an extraordinary feat.
"Usually the top scorer in Italy scores 26 or 27 goals. And usually the top scorer in Italy never wins the title. So maybe it’s better for us."
The last Juventus player to win the Capocannoniere was Alessandro Del Piero in 2007/08.
