Cristiano Ronaldo made his competitive debut for Juventus against Chievo. Despite Ronaldo failing to net a goal, Juventus won the contest 3-2. However, Ronaldo left Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino with a broken nose. The 33-year-old closed with Sorrentino during the match. Apart from the broken nose, Sorrentino suffered a bruised shoulder as well.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old goalkeeper has no grudges against Juventus’ new star. "I received a message of closeness and prompt recovery from Cristiano Ronaldo. Thank you legend!” Sorrentino tweeted recently. Meanwhile, Sorrentino looks doubtful for Chievo’s next game against Fiorentina on August 27.
Ho ricevuto un messaggio di vicinanza e pronta guarigione da parte di Cristiano Ronaldo.
Grazie leggenda! #ChievoJuve pic.twitter.com/QvJW3QrzDH
— Stefano Sorrentino (@Sorrentino) August 19, 2018
Earlier on Sunday, he had tweeted a picture of himself in a neck brace, with the message: “THANKS for your messages of closeness, affection, and esteem. We are a fantastic group and yesterday we touched the company: while CR7 took me full!”
GRAZIE per i vostri messaggi di vicinanza, affetto e stima. Siamo un gruppo fantastico e ieri abbiamo sfiorato l’impresa: mentre CR7 mi ha preso in pieno! 😂😂😂😂😂😂 #ChievoJuve pic.twitter.com/gVZ9uU6YL5
— Stefano Sorrentino (@Sorrentino) August 19, 2018
Winger Federico Bernardeschi scored an injury-time winner for Juventus, who after being put on the early lead by Sami Khedira, trailed 1-2, thanks to goals from Mariusz Stepinski and Emanuele Giaccherini. An own goal in the 75th minute made it 2-2 before substitute Bernardeschi sealed it for Juventus.
Massimiliano Allegri-coached Juventus appeared to be on their way to a routine win when German midfielder Khedira scored on a close-range shot just three minutes into the first half, reports Efe. Chievo fended off subsequent scoring chances that could have produced a more lopsided result, including a shot by Ronaldo that went wide, and then drew level seven minutes before first-half stoppage time.
On the play, Polish striker Mariusz Stepinski received a cross from Italian midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini and put the ball home on a header. Juventus were keen to retake the lead at the start of the second half, but Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino preserved the tie when he saved a long-range shot by Ronaldo.
The hosts then took the lead in the 56th minute when Giaccherini successfully converted a penalty he had won for a foul in the area by Joao Cancelo. Juventus were unable to draw level until the 75th minute, finally doing so when Chievo's Mattia Bani scored an own goal.
Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic appeared to score the winner for Juventus five minutes before injury time, but the referee ruled it out for a handball by Ronaldo. Juventus, however, took the lead for good three minutes into second-half stoppage time when Italian winger Federico Bernardeschi scored off a pass from Brazilian left-back Alex Sandro. (inputs IANS)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 09:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).