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Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t a failure for Juventus in the Champions League. Nicol believes the sub-par performances of his teammates let the Portuguese superstar down during his three-season stay in Turin.
Having won three successive Champions League trophies with Real Madrid, the legendary No.7 signed for Juventus in the summer of 2018. The Bianconeri expected the Portugal skipper to fire them to their first Champions League triumph since 1996, but the forward failed to make that happen.
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Several Juventus fans have criticized the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for failing to take his team deep into the European competition. Nicole, however, claimed that Ronaldo “did his job” for the Bianconeri and was only held back by his teammates’ poor displays.
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Speaking on ESPN, Nicol said:
“Whoever blamed him, I think they're being harsh because the truth is, he was brought in for them to win the CL. In the CL he scored goals, he did his job, the rest of the team didn't do its job.”
The legendary full-back added:
“So I find it difficult to agree with anybody who's blaming Ronaldo for the problems Juventus are having, he did his part as far as I'm concerned.”
The Italian giants fell to a shock 0-3 defeat in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash against Villarreal on Wednesday night. Gerard Moreno (penalty), Pau Torres and Arnaut Danjuma (penalty) each scored a goal to send the Bianconeri crashing out with a 1-4 aggregate scoreline.
Cristiano Ronaldo was Juventus’ best performer in the Champions League during his stay in Turin
Although he failed to guide Juve to Champions League glory, the 37-year-old was their undisputed star in the competition for three years. In the 2018-19 season, he scored a Round of 16 second leg hat-trick against Atletico Madrid to snatch a 3-2 aggregate win for the Old Lady. In the quarter-finals, he scored both of the Bianconeri’s goals in the 2-3 aggregate defeat to Ajax.
The following season, the Turin-based club were eliminated in the Round of 16 at the hands of Lyon. The French side won on away goals after the tie ended at 2-2. To no one’s surprise, the five-time Champions League winners scored both of Juve’s goals.
Only in his final season did Ronaldo fail to score in the knockouts as Juventus were once again eliminated in the Round of 16, this time at the hands of Porto. However, his brace against Barcelona in the group stage told his critics all they needed to know about his ability to influence big games.
