Juventus maintain 100% Serie A start but concerns remain about misfiring Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score for the third successive game since his record-breaking move to Juventus from Real Madrid, as Juventus edged out a dogged Parma side 2-1 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Saturday.
Goals from Mario Mandzukic and a wonderful effort from Blaise Matuidi, against a solitary Parma goal from former Arsenal and Roma man Gervinho, was enough to claim their third victory of the new Serie A campaign. There may well be rumblings of discontent among the Juventus faithful, however, over the performance of record signing Ronaldo.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scuffed several chances over 90 minutes and appeared an increasingly frustrated character as the game progressed. The Portuguese has yet to find the net for his new club following his big-money move from the Spanish capital.
Collectively, Juventus managed 24 shots during the game, many of which came from the boot of Ronaldo, but their ineffectiveness in front of goal was evidenced by the fact that they hit the target just six times. Taking Saturday’s match into account, Ronaldo has now failed to score from his first 23 efforts on goal in a Juventus shirt - the most of any player in Europe’s top five leagues, and 10 more than the next player on the list.
While he has had slow starts to seasons in the past, notably during his final year in Madrid, Ronaldo’s misfortunes in front of goal are magnified somewhat by the fact that his arrival meant the shipping out of Gonzalo Higuain to Milan. Paulo Dybala, last season’s top scorer in Turin, has also been forced to adapt to his new teammate and has been consigned to the bench for the last two matches.
READ MORE: Can Cristiano Ronaldo maintain goal-scoring heroics against Serie A defenses?
Realistically, it’s too early to be overly-concerned about Ronaldo failing to score as he adapts to a new team, system and city. But if Juventus start dropping points in tandem with an anemic Ronaldo leading their line, pulses might just start to rise among the Juventus hierarchy.
