Cristiano Ronaldo has come under angry criticism from Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri after the Turin club lost the Coppa Italia to Napoli on penalties, meaning the winger has lost back-to-back finals for the first time ever.
Juve went down 4-2 on penalties to Napoli in Wednesday’s final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico following a 0-0 draw after normal time, the second consecutive domestic final Ronaldo has lost with The Old Lady of Turin after the defeat in the Supercoppa Italiana against Lazio in December, in which he also failed to score.
After the game Sarri, who lost his third final that night, said that Ronaldo’s sharpness was not what it needs to be to perform on a level such as teammate Paulo Dybala, despite the Argentine playmaker spurning his chance to score from the spot with Juventus’ first penalty.
“He’s in the same shame as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa, he is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him,” Sarri said, while adding that he “didn’t say much” to the players after the game, as in times of anger and disappointment, silence is the best option.
Ronaldo isn’t quite sharp enough for Sarri’s liking ? pic.twitter.com/NDCWMlC9wc
Ronaldo has won 29 major honors in his glittering career, including five Champions Leagues and as many Ballon d’Ors, but the Portuguese is suffering from a lack of form that has plagued him from before the Covid-19 enforced break in football and carried over to Friday’s cup semi-final against AC Milan, in which he missed a penalty.
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Despite a backlash being expected from the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man, Ronaldo also failed to find the net in the final, and at 35 years of age it is not beyond logical to suggest the superstar could face an uphill battle to recapture the missing sharpness which concerns Sarri.
Ronaldo was likely to be the fifth and final penalty taker for Juve but was denied the chance from 12 yards when Dybala and Danilo failed to convert, leaving Arkadiusz Milik put his effort past Gigi Buffon and hand Gennaro Gattuso’s men the cup.
It’s the second goalless draw recorded by Sarri’s side since Italian football returned, and means they go into this weekend’s Serie A restart having failed to register a goal in 210 minutes of football before their away day at Bologna.
It could signal a rocky defence of their scudetto as their grasp on top spot in the league is also only by the slightest of point margins. Juventus sit atop Serie A by a solitary point, just ahead of Lazio, who play Atalanta on Wednesday.
