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Tag Ronaldo

Sport

Ronaldo seals Juventus win to keep pressure on Inter Milan

Serie A
Turin (Italy), Sept. 28, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Cristiano Ronaldo helped Juventus to continue their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a comfortable 2-0 home victory over struggling SPAL on Saturday.

Miralem Pjanic’s strike put the hosts in front on the stroke of half-time before Ronaldo headed his third goal of the campaign with 12 minutes remaining.

Juve lead the table on 16 points but Inter Milan can return to the summit when they travel to Sampdoria later on Saturday.

SPAL goalkeeper Etrit Berisha made a string of impressive saves to keep the score down as the visitors fell to their fifth defeat in six matches.

They stay level on three points with Sampdoria at the foot of the table.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Ronaldo brace gives Juventus contentious win over unlucky Sampdoria

Ronaldo

Turin (Italy), Dec. 29, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday scored a brace, with the second goal a contentious penalty kick, to give Juventus a dramatic 2-1 win over Sampdoria.

Sampdoria also had a stoppage-time equaliser chalked off following a long Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review in Serie A.

Riccardo Saponara thought he had given Sampdoria a point when he curled a delightful shot past Mattia Perin and was booked for throwing off his shirt as he celebrated.

But, after a delay of nearly three minutes, referee Paolo Valeri ruled that there had been an offside in the build-up.

It was one of three VAR decisions in a game which also saw Sampdoria’s 35-year-old forward Fabio Quagliarella score for the ninth Serie A game in a row.

It made him the first player to do so since David Trezeguet in 2005.

Leaders Juve meanwhile reached the season’s halfway mark with 53 points out of a possible 57, a Serie A record for a 20-team championship.

Sampdoria coach Marco Giampaolo described Juve’s penalty kick, awarded for handball by Alex Ferrari, as absurd.

“The penalty kick given to Juventus was a present,” he said.

“We can talk about this until the day after tomorrow, but you can’t give a penalty kick like that. Otherwise, every Sunday will turn into a mess. That handball decision was absurd.”

Ronaldo gave Juventus the lead after two minutes, collecting Paulo Dybala’s pass and cutting inside to score with a low shot.

Former Juventus forward Quagliarella levelled in the 33rd minute from a penalty kick awarded after the ball hit the back of Emre Can’s outstretched arm as he jumped for it.

The referee gave the penalty kick after looking at the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Juve’s winner also came from a handball, although the ball only brushed Ferrari’s arm which did not appear to be outstretched.

The referee immediately pointed to the spot, but Ronaldo had to wait more than two minutes to take his kick, while the incident was reviewed on the pitchside monitor.

The Portugal forward took his tally to 14 goals, making him Serie A’s top goalscorer.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he believed his side needed 37 more points from their remaining 19 games to make sure of an eighth successive title.

“VAR is an important instrument,” he said. “There were two penalty kicks, both awarded with the use of VAR, one confirmed and one under a review.

“Looking at it that way, it was either both or neither. In Italy, we create too many controversies.”(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Ronaldo in hospital in Ibiza with pneumonia – media report

Ronaldo

Ibiza (Spain), Aug. 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Former Brazil and Real Madrid great Ronaldo Nazario is currently in hospital in Ibiza recovering from pneumonia, local media said on Sunday.

Newspaper Diario de Ibiza said the two-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2002 World Cup Golden Boot winner is currently in the intensive care unit at the private Policlinica Nuestra Senora del Rosario hospital.

Sources told Diario de Ibiza that Ronaldo was recovering well.

The hospital could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.

Ronaldo, who was on holiday in Ibiza when he was taken ill, retired from football in 2011 following a hugely successful career.

He featured stints at PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Brazilian sides Corinthians and Cruzeiro as well as Real Madrid, where he is a club ambassador.

He won two La Liga titles with Real, the UEFA Cup with Inter and lifted the World Cup in 1994 and 2002 with Brazil, also reaching the tournament’s final in 1998.

He picked up the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world in 1997 and 2002. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/TÁ
Edited by Tajudeen Atitebi

Sport

 “BBC’’ strikeforce back on air as Real Madrid sink Alaves

NAN-S-5
Strikeforce
Madrid, Feb. 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Real Madrid’s “BBC” strikeforce hit back with a vengeance when Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all scored in a 4-0 win over Alaves on Saturday.

The victory moved the champions within four points of second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo returned to the starting line-up after being rested for Wednesday’s game with Leganes.

The Portuguese put Real ahead after shaking off a painful ankle knock on the stroke of halftime, taking advantage of a clever backheel from Benzema.

Benzema was also the catalyst for Real’s second goal which came under a minute into the second half.

The Frenchman won the ball back in midfield and tore towards goal, slipping it into Bale’s path for the Wales international to slot it inside the near post.

Ronaldo struck Real’s third goal of the day and his 299th in La Liga in the 61st minute, sending Vazquez’s cutback under the reach of former Real goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco.

Ronaldo then surrendered the opportunity to score a hat-trick by offering Benzema penalty-taking duties after Bale was brought down.

The Frenchman made no mistake, converting from the penalty kick spot in the 89th minute.

Real are third in the standings on 51 points, 11 behind leaders Barcelona and four from Atletico, who can widen the gap back to seven when they visit Sevilla on Sunday.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Saidu Adamu and Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

UEFA Champions League: Ronaldo grabs brace as Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund

NAN-S-10
Ronaldo
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, Sept. 26, 2017 (NAN) Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 150th European game with two goals as Real Madrid sealed a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday to lead their UEFA Champions League Group H.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ronaldo scored two second half goals after Gareth Bale’s stunning early volley gave Real the lead at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.

The Germans fought back when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally netted with just over half an hour left, but there was to be no repeat of last year’s 2-2 draw in Dortmund between the teams.

“Real were simply ruthless and utilised their goal scoring chances,” Dortmund midfielder Gonzalo Castro later said.

“We had the chance to make it 1-1, but instead we went 0-2 down and then it is always hard against Real.’’

The result leaves Real top of Group H, just ahead of Tottenham Hotspurs, who beat Apoel Nicosia 3-0 away in Cyprus through a Harry Kane hat-trick.

Having also netted twice against Apoel, Ronaldo has now scored four goals in just two Champions League games this season.

He marked his 400th appearance for Madrid in total with another pair to leave him with 411 goals in the famous white shirt.

This is the first time Dortmund have lost at home to Real in seven European games, while holders Madrid have now scored in 38 successive Champion League games.

Dortmund should have been awarded a penalty kick with 13 minutes gone when Sergio Ramos cleared Maximilian Philipp’s shot off the line and the ball deflected off his hand.

Andrey Yarmolenko’s initial cross sailed tantalisingly over the head of Borussia’s top-scorer Aubameyang in the build-up.

Real took the lead three minutes later when right-back Daniel Carvajal whipped in a cross and Bale’s non-chalant volley sailed over Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki for a stunning goal.

With half an hour gone, Dortmund turned the screw with Carvajal having to rescue Real by whipping the ball off Aubameyang’s toes with the Gabon striker bearing down on goal.

Aubameyang had the ball in the net on 38 minutes, when he spun and fired home Lukasz Piszczek’s pass, but the goal was ruled offside as it stayed 1-0 to Real at the break.

Real lived dangerously after the break when Mario Goetze tried to find Aubameyang, but centre-back Raphael Varane cleared the danger.

The Spanish giants doubled their lead on 49 minutes when Ronaldo met Bale’s inch-perfect cross.

Dortmund pulled a goal back on 54 minutes when Aubameyang slipped his marker to convert Gonzalo Castro’s cross, then hit the side netting as Borussia pushed for the equaliser.

With 15 minutes left, Burki had to push Isco’s shot around the post as Real kept the pressure.

Ronaldo, who was left in acres of space, settled the tie by blasting home Luka Modric’s cross on 79 minutes with Madrid’s third goal on the break.

It was a goal which took the game out of Dortmund’s grasp.

In other UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday, Kevin De Bruyne’s superb strike and a late Raheem Sterling goal maintained Manchester City’s impressive form.

They won 2-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk in Kiev.(NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Ronaldo hat-trick helps Real Madrid overpower Bayern Munich

NAN-S-14

Ronaldo
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, April 18, 2017 (NAN) Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday scored a hat-trick as holders Real Madrid controversially overcame Bayern Munich 4-2  after extra time for a 6-3 aggregate win.

The defending champions led 2-1 from the away first leg, but lost 1-2 for a 3-3 aggregate at full time in the home second leg before Ronaldo’s intervention.

But it was a performance enough for them to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, and their seventh consecutive semi-final appearance.

Needing at least two goals to progress, Bayern led when Robert Lewandowski confidently drilled in a penalty kick.

Real Madrid struggled to find rhythm at a nervy Bernabeu before Ronaldo headed in Casemiro’s precise cross.

Bayern responded just 36 seconds later as Sergio Ramos’ own goal forced extra time, which the Germans had to play with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off.

Ronaldo was standing in an offside position when he fired in Real Madrid’s second — and then Bayern crumbled.

The Portugal captain tapped in the third — for his 100th Champions League goal — after Marcelo’s marauding run, with Marco Asensio sealing victory by firing into the bottom corner.

Real Madrid will discover their semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Friday.

In the other quarter-final match also played on Tuesday, Atletico Madrid held off a spirited Leicester City to reach their third semi-finals in four years.

The English side’s superb debut campaign came to an end as Atletico Madrid sealed their progress to the last four with a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Spain, Atletico took control through Saul Niguez’s first-half header.

City took the game to Atletico after the break and gave themselves hope via Jamie Vardy’s close-range finish.

But the visitors held on for a 2-1 aggregate win.(NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)