Ronaldo scores twice on return from COVID-19 in Juve win

Reuters: Cristiano Ronaldo made an immediate impact on his return from a COVID-19 infection on Sunday, scoring three minutes after coming on as a substitute before converting a penalty to lead Juventus to a 4-1 Serie A win at Spezia.

The Serie A champions, pegged back at 1-1 when the 35-year-old entered the fray, scored three times in 20 minutes after his arrival as they went second in the table.

Alvaro Morata and Adrien Rabiot were also on target as Andrea Pirlo’s side bounced back after drawing their previous three Serie A matches – not including the 3-0 walkover they were awarded against Napoli.

“We created plenty of chances in the first half and it was a shame we were still level after all those chances; we have to be more ruthless,” said Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo. “Then Cristiano came on and did his job”.

“We are still under construction, we are about 60 to 70% finished.”