Juventus have returned at the top of Serie A.
But there was an interesting situation regarding Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed off for the second consecutive match by Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri which has left the Portuguese talisman furious. The Portuguese was caught going straight down the tunnel after being taken off for Paulo Dybala in Juventus’s 1-0 win over AC Milan.
Reports from Metro now claim that the former Real Madrid star was upset and left the stadium three minutes before the final whistle in the match. As a result, Sarri was quizzed about why his senior star left the stadium before the match finished.
“Disrespectful to his teammates? Like I said, I don’t know,” Sarri told Sky Italia. “If it is true that he left before the end it is a problem to be resolved with his teammates. I have no problem with Cristiano, he should be thanked because he made himself available despite not being in the best condition. In the last month he has had discomfort in his knee and this is a little problem for him.”
Juventus held on to their top spot on the Serie A table as they got the better of AC Milan courtesy a goal from Paulo Dybala. The Argentine was brought on for Cristiano Ronaldo by manager Maurizio Sarri in the 54th minute and his decision was vindicated.
Ronaldo was obviosuly not happy at being taken off and even left the stadium three minutes before the final whistle. Sarri has now revealed why he took the decision to sub one of the most important players of his team off only seven minutes into the second half.
“We must thank Ronaldo, because he made a sacrifice to be there at all tonight in a difficult situation,” Sarri added.
“He did everything possible to play, but I saw he was not well and thought it best to take him off. It is only natural a player is going to be irritated to leave the pitch, especially when he worked so hard to be there.
“Over the last month, he has had this little knee problem, he had a knock in training and it hurt the collateral ligament. When he trains at high intensity or plays, it unbalances him, so he ends up overcompensating and it damages the calf and thigh muscles.
“It is affecting his performances and he is not at his best at the moment. All players who are trying to give their best will have at least five minutes of being annoyed when they are substituted, but a coach would in general be much more worried if he didn’t seem upset.”
SEE ALSO:
- From AC Milan-Juventus to Juventus-AC Milan: Gonzalo Higuain’s past 12 months
- Why Matthijs de Ligt was not included in Juventus’ squad to face Lokomotiv
- LIST: Juventus All Time Leading Goalscorers
