Cristiano Ronaldo registered another milestone for Juventus becoming the first player to score in six consecutive away league games as Italy champions Juventus overcame a gritty Torino 1-0 to maintain their unbeaten streak in Serie A.
The sixth-placed Torino, who have beaten the more prosperous city rivals just once in 23 years, put up a gallant show but were undone by a misplaced pass from forward Simone Zaza.
Zaza’s pass to substitute goalkeeper Salvador Ichazo allowed Mario Mandzukic to intercept the ball before he was tripped by the Torino custodian. Ronaldo stood up and slotted in his 11th league goal for this season, despite Ichazo getting a hand to it.
The goal was also Juve’s 5000th Serie A goal putting the defending league champions on 46 points from 16 games, eight clear of the second-placed Napoli. Ronaldo joined Krzysztof Piatek of Genoa as the joint top-scorer with both on 11 goals.
But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner earned a booking immediately after scoring for nudging beaten goalkeeper Ichazo by the shoulder and for provoking him.
“It was a complicated game, played on a difficult pitch and against a tough opponent,” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by news agency AFP after the victory.
“We put in a good performance, played better than Torino, had more scoring opportunities and deserved the victory.
“The 5,000th goal? I’m happy, but the important thing was to help the team.”
Icardi leads Inter Milan to comeback win
Mauro Icardi converted a Panenka-style penalty to bring Inter Milan back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Udinese.
The match seemed to be heading towards a goalless draw with the visitors withstanding all attacks from the home side. One of them was a corner clearance in the 76th minute, which amidst wide protests from Inter players, was referred for a video review by the referee. It ruled that Seko Fofana had handled the ball.
Icardi, who had missed from close range minutes earlier, stood up and sent goalkeeper Juan Musso the wrong way to score his ninth goal of the season.
The win keeps Inter on 32 points from 16 matches to remain on third in the standings, while Udinese are just above the relegation zone with 13 points from as many.