Juventus regained top spot in Serie A after defeating Inter Milan 2-0 at an empty Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
Serie A resumed play this weekend despite ongoing concerns over the coronavirus, and scenes before the match showed players warming up in a surreal atmosphere.
Maybe this is the answer for Argentina up top? Absolutely not, but still, Juventus’ Argentinean duo of Gonzalo Higuaín and Paulo Dybala combined (3x) for a mesmerizing goal on Wednesday to help the Old Lady stroll into the Coppa Italia quarterfinals after hammering Udinese 4-0.
With Cristiano Ronaldo missing out entirely due to illness, it was up to the front three of Higuaín, Dybala and Douglas Costa to produce the goods, and they all got on the scoresheet for Juve.
When Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus, he immediately became the team’s No. 1 free-kick taker, despite the fact the Old Lady already had a couple world-class free kick takers.
Ronaldo has proven himself to be one of the best at spot kicks, but the numbers show he hasn’t brought that prowess with him to Italy.
At the age of 25, Paulo Dybala’s already conquered much of the footballing world — fitting for a man that celebrates his goals by donning a figurative gladiator mask. This season marks his fifth with Italian power Juventus, and every previous year has finished with a Serie A title to go along with three Coppa Italia triumphs.
Paulo Dybala did not start Tuesday’s match well. His first touch was a mess early on, he failed to provide much to the attack as Juventus went behind in the first half and many were surprised he wasn’t pulled when Gonzalo Higuain was brought on in the second half.
But by the time he was subbed out in the 81st minute, Dybala was the star — the match winner having scored twice, including an epic golazo to spark the Old Lady to a 2-1 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow.
The transfer window looms for the Premier League clubs, and time is ticking for some huge deals that are still on the table. While sales can still happen until late August, all Premier League acquisitions must be finalized by Aug. 8 by 5 p.m. Here are some of the Premier League transfer rumors still on the table as the end of the window nears.
Kieran Tierney — Arsenal
With Cristiano Ronaldo joining the side, Paulo Dybala’s goal scoring has dried up a bit in Serie A. The Argentine scored 22 goals in 33 league appearances in 2017-18, but had just two in 20 heading into the weekend. We got a not-so-subtle reminder of what the 25-year-old can do when he looks for goal with this incredible Dybala goal vs Frosinone on Friday.
Juventus was never likely to struggle playing at home against Frosinone, 47 points back of Juve in 19th place, even with a Champions League match with Atlético Madrid to look forward to on Wednesday.
Since 2013, the CIES Football Observatory has annually been releasing a list of the top 100 valued footballers from Europe’s “Big-5” leagues. It’s a fascinating concept because rather than just saying “Messi is the best, he’s No. 1. Ronaldo is second-best, he’s No.
The winter-break period separating the first half and the second half of the season in Europe’s top five leagues is a great time for clubs to reflect on a club's season (although winter break doesn’t exist in England). Even before Christmas, but Europe’s top clubs are preparing for their second half of the season push. Here are some New Year's resolutions for Europe’s top clubs in the big five leagues.