Serie A: Cristiano Ronaldo rescues Juventus with a late double against Udinese

Lazio beat Genoa at home in a seven goal thriller to keep themselves in contention for the European spot.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace as Juventus beat Udinese 2-1 at Friulli on Sunday; Credit: Twitter/@juventusfc
By Sreejith C R | May 3, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The race for the remaining three Champions League spots after Inter Milan’s title triumph is heating up with victories for Juventus and Lazio on Sunday. Juventus beat Udinese at Friulli courtesy of two late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. Lazio defeated Genoa in a seven goal thriller at home to stay five points from European spot with a game in hand. Atalanta’s 1-1 draw away to Sassuolo on Sunday ensured Inter Milan the Serie A title.
Nahuel Molina gave Udinese the lead in the 10th minute.

A quickly taken free-kick caught the Juve defense wrong footed. Molina slotted the ball past Juve goalkeeper Szczesny with a powerful low strike.

After conceding the goal, Juventus desperately tried hard for the equalizer. They got it in the 83rd minute courtesy of a penalty kick. Ronaldo’s free-kick hit the arm of the Udinese player in the wall and the referee pointed to the spot. The Portuguese striker stepped up and fired in a low shot to the right side of Udinese goalkeeper Simone Scuffet.

Ronaldo scored the winner for Juventus in the 89th minute. Substitute Adrien Rabiot’s ambitious cross from the left flank was headed in by Ronaldo at the far post. It was his 27th goal of the campaign.

After the victory, Andre Pirlo’s side are placed third in Serie A with 69 pints from 34 games. Level on points with second placed Atalanta and fourth placed AC Milan. All the teams in the top five have four games remaining.

Thriller at Stadio Olimpico

Sixth placed Lazio beat Genoa 4-3 at the Stadio Olympico on Sunday. Joaquin Correa continued his goal scoring form from the last game against AC Milan. He netted in the first goal of the match in the 30th minute. After some quick passing inside the penalty box the ball took a lucky deflection off Correa to go inside the Genoa goal.

Two minutes before half time, Ciro Immobile converted a spot kick for 19th goal of the season. Two minutes after restart, Genoa pulled one back courtesy of an own goal by defender Adam Marusic. Immediately after the goal Luis Alberto scored the third goal for Lazio with a delightful finish from just inside the penalty box.

Correa scored his second goal of the night in the 56th minute. The Argentine striker collected the ball in the left side of the penalty area and cut inside to beat the defender and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of Genoa goal to make it 4-1 for the home side.

Thriller Serie A finish

Genoa scored two late goals in quick succession. Referee gave the second penalty of the night to Genoa for a reckless foul on Milan Badelji. Gianluca Scamacca stepped up and smashed the ball straight into the net past Lazio goalkeeper Pepe Reina to make the score 4-2 in the 80th minute. Just one minute after that, Eldor Shomurodov scored the third Genoa goal of the night. The Uzbekistan striker fired the ball past Reina in the near post to make the score 4-3.

The Lazio defense denied Genoa the fourth goal and ensured three points to keep them in contention for the Champions League qualification. After the win, Lazio are 6th in the Serie A table with 64 points from 33 games. Five teams in the top six are competing for the remaining three Champions League spots with four games remaining for all teams except Lazio who have a game in hand.





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