Time: Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a long-range rocket as Juventus cruised past relegation-threatened Genoa 3-1, on a night when all three of the away side’s goals looked spectacular on the eye.
Chasing a record-extending ninth straight Serie A title, Juventus (72 points) restored its four-point lead over second-placed Lazio, which won 2-1 at Torino earlier on Tuesday. Since losing the Italian Cup final to Napoli in a penalty shootout, Juventus has won all three of its matches in the country’s top division league.
We produced a ton of chances and scored three beautiful goals, said Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri. It shows that our physical condition is improving, he added. Argentinian Paulo Dybala opened the scoring shortly after the break
He evaded three defenders before firing in a low shot that Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin, who is on loan from Juventus, could only get a weak hand on. Seven minutes later, it was Ronaldo’s turn. The Portuguese gathered a pass near midfield, charged towards the goal and unleashed a blistering effort from 22 yards into the top corner.
It was Ronaldo’s first goal in open play of the restart after converting penalties in his previous two games. And, the goal raised his tally to 24 in 25 Serie A matches this season.
Not to be outdone, substitute Douglas Costa made it 3-0 by curling in a shot from beyond the area. Andrea Pinamonti then pulled one back for host Genoa from a tight angle.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes capped a fine individual performance with two goals and Mason Greenwood added another as Manchester United won 3-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Tuesday to stay in the hunt for a Champions League spot.
Having stretched its unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games, United climbed back into fifth place on 52 points from 32 matches. Brighton has 33 points from the same number of fixtures as its opponent.