Ronaldo gunning for revenge
Cristiano Ronaldo is in hot form and gunning for revenge going into Tuesday's Champions League clash against Valencia after seeing red against the Spaniards in the away leg, with Juventus needing a draw in Turin to book their ticket to the knockout rounds of the European competition.
"Happy to have helped the team on another important win," the 33-year-old wrote on social media after scoring his tenth goal this season for the Italian giants in Saturday's 2-0 win over SPAL as Juventus opened up a record eight-point lead on the top of Serie A after 13 games.
Next up is a Group H return leg clash against Valencia, who beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in La Liga at the weekend, but are midtable in Spain.
Juventus are top of the group with nine points after four games, with Manchester United two points behind and the Spaniards on five.
Ronaldo's Champions League debut for Juventus in September was marred when he was controversially sent off in tears after half an hour for a small push on Valencia defender Jeison Murillo in Spain.
The red card was his first in 154 Champions League appearances, but Juventus still went on to beat the Spaniards 2-0.
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal for Juventus and the 121st of his career against Manchester United in Turin earlier this month before a stunning comeback gave his former club a 2-1 win to delay the Italians' passage to the last 16.
Colombian teammate Juan Cuadrado warned that Ronaldo's focus remains on the pitch, as he bids to add to his five Champions League titles between Manchester United and Real Madrid.
"Cristiano Ronaldo's main quality is his professionalism," said Cuadrado. "He's hungry for victory and he's come to the right place. We all think the same way he does."
Juventus won the elite European title twice in 1985 and 1996, but have finished runners-up seven times.
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