The forward scored two penalties to see his side past the hosts and set another new record in the process
Cristiano Ronaldo broke new ground on Sunday with his 400th win in Europe’s top five leagues, a number no other player has reached in the 21st century.
The 35-year-old proved key to Juventus‘ latest Serie A victory, scoring twice to help the reigning Italian champions past Genoa in a 3-1 win.
Both of Ronaldo’s goals came from the penalty spot in the last 12 minutes, restoring Juve’s advantage after Stefano Sturaro had cancelled out Paulo Dybala’s opener for the away side.
It was a typically dominant performance from the Portuguese forward, who thus brought up his quadruple century of league wins in the big five.
Ronaldo, of course, starred in the Premier League for Manchester United and then La Liga with Real Madrid before moving across to Italy in 2018.
400 – #CristianoRonaldo become the first player to reach 400 wins in the top-5 European League in 2000s. Lionel Messi is second in this ranking with 365 wins (Buffon third, 350). Winner.#GenoaJuve pic.twitter.com/otJ5vWuuzy
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 13, 2020
No other man has managed to finish on the winning side as many times as him in the past 20 years, although Lionel Messi, with 365 wins, may catch him in the coming seasons.
Cristiano’s Juventus team-mate Gianlugi Buffon completes the podium, winning no less than 350 times in his illustrious league career that has spanned both Serie A and Ligue 1, with Paris Saint-Germain.
Sunday’s clash also brought up Ronaldo’s 100th game in Juve colours, in which time he has netted an impressive 77 goals.
Only Argentine club legend Omar Sivori, with 84, and Felice Borel (80) scored more in their first 100 appearances for the Old Lady.
Sivori is also only one of three players to score 31 Serie A goals or more in a calendar year, as Ronaldo has in 2020, reaching that tally in 1961.
Juventus, who on Tuesday downed Messi’s Barcelona side 3-0 at Camp Nou to seal top spot in their Champions League group, are back in action on Wednesday when they host Atalanta in Serie A.
Andrea Pirlo’s charges currently lie in fourth place in the standings, three points behind leaders Milan.
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