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Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo kept their chances of playing in the UEFA Champions League final alive by securing a thrilling 3-2 victory over Antonio Conte's Inter.
In a match which ebbed and flowed and had its fair share of controversial refereeing decisions, Juventus held their nerve and eked out a narrow win to move into 4th position ahead of Napoli, who have a game in hand.
Juventus took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo in the 24th minute after they were awarded a penalty for a soft foul on Chiellini. Cristiano Ronaldo saw the penalty saved by Inter shot-stopper Samir Handanovic but he was on hand to sweep home the rebound and give his side the lead.
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Soon after, Inter were awarded a penalty of their own as VAR ruled that Lautaro Martinez was fouled inside the box. Romelu Lukaku made no mistake from the spot to restore parity.
Juventus restored their lead in first-half stoppage time, however, as Juan Cuadrado's stunning strike from distance gave the Old Lady a crucial lead heading into half time.
Juventus and Inter both went hammer and tongs in the second half and the game took another twist when Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off in the 55th minute after a second yellow card.
Andrea Pirlo made a brave decision and subbed Cristiano Ronaldo in the 70th minute for Alvaro Morata as 10 men Juventus looked to guard their precarious lead.
Inter found the equalizer in the 83rd minute in controversial circumstances once again as Chiellini's own goal was allowed to stand after numerous checks on the VAR. It looked like Juventus' hopes of a Champions League place were ending, but there was one last twist as Juventus were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute.
In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Juan Cuadrado stepped up to calmly dispatch his penalty and secure a crucial victory over Juventus. Speaking to Sky Italia after the match, Pirlo emphasized the importance of the victory:
“Winning was important to still have hope. We had an obligation to carry out our objective and we managed to win, despite some difficulties.
“We would not be talking about a fight for fourth place if we had always had the same determination as in the last few games.
Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo also spoke about his decision to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar went into the dressing room before the match ended, however, Pirlo said that Cristiano Ronaldo was happy in the dressing room.
“It was maybe the first time that he (Cristiano Ronaldo) has been happy to come off, as he would have had to chase shadows for the rest of the match seeing as we were down to 10 men. He was happy in the dressing room."
With intense speculation over Cristiano Ronaldo's future in the last few weeks, it will be interesting to see where the 5 time Ballon d'Or winner will be playing next season.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the:
Best Tweets from Juventus 3-2 Inter Milan
Cristiano Ronaldo just keeps scoring goals for Juventus
