The Old Lady left it late to claim all three points in an entertaining clash, leaving their Portuguese star pleased with the team’s resilience
Cristiano Ronaldo was delighted with the way Juventus kept persisting in a nervy 2-1 win against Serie A strugglers Genoa on Wednesday.
Both sides ended with 10 men and it looked like they would share a point after Christian Kouame’s bizarre goal cancelled out Leonardo Bonucci’s opener in Turin.
Genoa’s Kouame shot the ball with his right foot into his trailing left leg, producing a wicked deflection that wrong-footed Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and appeared as if it may earn Thiago Motta’s side a draw.
Ronaldo had a 92nd-minute goal disallowed after VAR ruled he was offside, but he still had time to be the hero, winning and then scoring a controversial late penalty.
“I am very happy,” Ronaldo told Sky Sport Italia.
“[It was] a very difficult match against an organised team but we are Juventus, the motto is to [fight to] the end.
“We are very happy with the three points. We created a lot and we deserved it.
“Inter ahead in the standings was an extra stimulus.”
Ronaldo’s late spot-kick saw Juventus replace Inter at the top of Serie A – Maurizio Sarri’s men one point clear.
Genoa had to play more than 40 minutes with 10 men after Francesco Cassata was given his marching orders in the 51st minute for another foul on Paulo Dybala.
Both of Cassata’s yellow cards came for challenges on Dybala.
Referee Antonio Giua levelled things up at the Allianz Stadium in the 87th minute, when Juventus substitute Adrien Rabiot was given a second yellow card.
Many sides would have sat back and taken a point from there, but Juve kept persisting as Ronaldo produced a typical dose of late drama.
Juventus extended their streak of matches without defeat to 13, with their last loss in a competitive game against Sampdoria on the final weekend of the previous Serie A season in May.
Their next match in the league will be away from home but in their city as they take on Torino in the derby on Saturday.
The Old Lady can also secure qualification to the Champions League knockouts in their next European tie against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian capital on November 6.
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