Juventus

First things first, before we talk about controversy or points of contention with referees, we have to simply talk about the game and how it actually flowed. After Atlético Madrid’s sensational performance at the Wanda Metropolitano on Feb. 20, this was an absolute debacle at Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.

It’s difficult to remember a time when Diego Simeone got things so ineffably wrong. How could Atlético go from this (cojones): 

The mission seemed impossible for Juventus after the first leg.

A defeat at Atletico Madrid meant the Old Lady needed three goals without allowing one against one of the best defenses in all of Europe. 

But Juventus has something this year it’s never had before: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former Real Madrid superstar paid off his immense transfer fee with one incredible performance, scoring a hat trick to lead Juventus to a 3-2 aggregate win in the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday in Turin. 

In his first season in Italy after nine season with Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the Spanish capital for a Champions League Round of 16 match on Wednesday.

Facing Atlético Madrid with his new Italian club Juventus, Ronaldo was unsurprisingly a target of the home fans at the Wanda Metropolitano. He responded by mocking the Atleti fans, and Los Colchoneros responded by handing the Bianconeri a critical 2-0 defeat. 

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. 

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo next season. After plenty of rumors surrounding Ramsey’s potential switch to the Italian giant seemed like outlandish speculation, news came out Monday that the Welshman signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus. 

Thank you, @aaronramsey

Cristiano Ronaldo turns 34 on Tuesday. Usually strikers start fading at that age. Maybe they lose a step of pace or that passion burns a little less. But three days shy of another Ronaldo birthday, the Juventus forward is still as hungry as ever for goals.

According to the Deloitte Football Money League 2019 study, Real Madrid is now the richest club in the world after generating a record revenue of $867.7 million over the course of the 2017-18 season. Last year’s number one, Manchester United, has fallen to number three in the rankings and been overtaken by Barcelona as well.