Massimiliano Allegri Jokes Cristiano Ronaldo Must Score Every Penalty to Be Forgiven for UCL Drama
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has jokingly suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo must score every Juventus penalty if he is to earn forgiveness for eliminating The Old Lady from the Champions League last season.
The Italian side faced Ronaldo and Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final, and the tie ended in controversial fashion. Real won the first leg 3-0, but Juventus bounced back tremendously and led the second leg 3-0 with just seconds remaining. However, following a red card for Gianluigi Buffon, Ronaldo netted a 98th-minute penalty to win 4-3 on aggregate.
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Speaking after Juventus' impressive 3-0 victory over Fiorentina, Allegri joked that Ronaldo must work hard to earn forgiveness for eliminating Juventus. He is quoted by Goal as saying: "Ronaldo takes the penalties.
"After he's scored that one against us in the [98th] minute at 139km/h, am I supposed to let somebody else do that?
"He has to do something to be forgiven. He's got to take penalties and score... always."
Goals from Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgio Chiellini gave Juventus a two-goal advantage, and Ronaldo added a third when he converted a 79th-minute penalty to ensure the team picked up all three points.
Juventus moved 11 points clear at the top of Serie A, and Allegri admitted that he was impressed with his side's performance.
He said: “It wasn’t easy, as the atmosphere was passionate and the whole city had been waiting for this game.
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"I asked the lads to stay solid and after a period where we didn’t play all that well, allowing them to keep the ball for 10 minutes straight, we reorganised. The second goal helped us shake off the tension and we relaxed into our lead. We had more chances and could certainly have gone 2-0 up earlier.
“You have to be wary, as in Florence the games are never over until the final whistle, they have great technique and pace, but we defended well on their crosses.”
