Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal after a 19 day quarantine within three minutes on the field to hand Juventus a lead in their Serie A game versus Spezia on Sunday. The Portuguese national finished the game with a brace, the second goal coming in form of a 76th minute penalty. Juventus won the game 4-1.

Juventus looked struggling with a two match winless streak mixing with the cool atmosphere Andrea Pirlo had set in the Turin camp. With Ronaldo missing after he tested positive for COVID-19, the La Fidanzata d’ Italia lost their Champions League draw versus Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in 2-0 match. Though Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala handled the attacking line reasonably well, the team desperately missed the CR7 mojo.

Playing against Spezia, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t feature in the starting line-up, but was called by the Juve manager at the 56th minute when the team had a draw level going. The former Real Madrid talisman received a clean pass from Alvaro Morata, as he turned running towards the keeper in the box. A little dribble, pushing the ball to the right of the goalkeeper, Ronaldo tucked the ball into the net with ease. His second goal came when Chiesa lay fallen owing to a challenge by Ferrer. The No 7 simply chipped the ball towards the right as Provedel made a dive in the left side.

Ronaldo had been open about his frustration during the quarantine period. He had posted on social media numerous times expressing his wish to take on the pitch with the former Italian Champions.

However, a statement from the club came only on the eve of the match when they announced a negative result and Ronaldo’s inclusion in the squad.
The statement from Juventus read: “Cristiano Ronaldo carried out a check with a diagnostic test (swab) for Covid 19. The exam provided a negative result. The player has, therefore, recovered after 19 days and is no longer subjected to home isolation.”

Alvaro Morata opened Juventus’ account in the 14th minute. Rabiot scored a stunner in the 67th minute to let Ronaldo’s goals sandwich it. Juventus claimed their third win of the Serie A season, standing second on the table that AC Milan leads with 16 points.