Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in post-covid Serie A comeback

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo only came in as a substitute in his Serie A comeback after finally returning a negative coronavirus test. He wasted no time in showing off his abilities as he scored twice against Spezia in a 4-1 victory for the Old Lady.

35-year-old Ronaldo missed four games for Juventus, wherein they struggled to find the winning touch. They could only manage Serie A draws against Crotone and Verona, while they lost against FC Barcelona 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League. The Turin side's lone victory without Ronaldo was their opening UCL group stage match against Dynamo Kiev, 2-0.

Last night, Ronaldo's Juventus teammates were in no doubt delighted to have him back on the pitch. He scored his first goal in the 59th minute, just three minutes after replacing Paulo Dybala. That gave Juventus a 2-1 lead after Alvaro Morata scored the opening goal and Tommaso Pobega equalised for Spezia.

The Portuguese international then completed his massive comeback with a Panenka penalty in the 76th minute. At this point, Adrien Rabiot had already scored the third goal for Juventus. The match ended with a convincing 4-1 scoreline that takes the defending champions up to third place in the Serie A table. Juventus is now just 4 points behind AC Milan, but they still have a lot of work to do if they plan to retain their title.

Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who himself has recently recovered from Covid-19, is out on a rampage. The Swede made one assist and scored the winning goal in the closing stages of last night's 2-1 victory against Udinese.

Ronaldo spent his isolation period training in his home gym but Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo practised caution by naming him as a substitute. After last night's stellar performance, there is no doubt that he will be eased into the starting lineup very quickly.

After expressing his frustration at not being able to be cleared quickly enough to face FC Barcelona in the Champions League, Ronaldo will surely be looking forward to their home game in December.