Cristiano Ronaldo was subjected to criticism after failing to make an appearance for Juventus during their pre-season game against Team K League against Seoul on Friday night, as reported by The Mirror.
The game ended 3-3 with Ronaldo on the bench. Most fans would have been hoping to get a glimpse of Ronaldo. CR7 is after all the most popular player from the Old Lady’s first-team and an icon throughout the World. Juve manager Maurizio Sarri cited fatigue as being the reason why the Portugal Captain did not make an appearance during the game.
Sarri said: “We gave room to some of the younger figures who were ready to step up. Ronaldo was very tired, so we decided to rest him.
“Ronaldo was expected to play, but he was not 100 per cent fit due to muscle fatigue. I spoke with Andrea and Ronaldo before the match and we concluded that it would be best for him to rest. Now we have 10 days without games, so we can focus on preparing well in training.”
Fans showed their disgust at Ronaldo not making an appearance by chanting “Messi, Messi”.
What happened during the game?
The K-League team played positive football and opened the scoring during the seventh minute following a long-range effort from Osmar. Juve levelled just two minutes later though through Simone Muratore. Team K League again went on to take the lead through a neat finish from Brazilian Cesinha who after scoring performed the famous Ronaldo celebration. After Adam Taggart made the score 3-1 for the K-League Side, Juve scored two quick goals.
Juve fielded a strong side which featured the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Miralem Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain but they were unable to play clinical football. Understandably, they were probably not giving their all intentionally in a bid to avoid serious injuries ahead of the upcoming Serie A campaign.
Juventus are next in action when they play against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on 10 August. They will now have a long break ahead of that game and it is very unlikely that Ronaldo will not play a part in the tune-up game against Diego Simeone’s side.
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