Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be coming back to the United States anytime soon. Amid a Las Vegas police investigation into allegations Ronaldo raped a woman in 2009, the Juventus Preseason Tour 2019 will not swing through the U.S., as it has in recent years, according to reports from the New York Times.

Having won Italy’s Serie A title for seven consecutive seasons now, it’s obvious that Juventus did not buy Cristiano Ronaldo last summer in a bid to establish domestic dominance. The Old Lady spent nearly $130 million on the 34-year-old to finally land the prize that’s eluded them since 1996, the UEFA Champions League.

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