Cristiano Ronaldo shrugs off Serie A record: It’s important Juve win

Cristiano Ronaldo insisted that while records are nice, the most important thing is for defending champions Juventus to succeed following his historic outing in Serie A.

Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 50 Serie A goals as league leaders Juve defeated slumping Lazio 2-1 in Turin on Monday.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner – who reached half a century of Serie A goals in just 61 matches – scored twice in the space of three second-half minutes to put Juve on the cusp of their ninth successive Scudetto.

Ronaldo also became the first player to score 50 or more goals in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League but the former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar attempted to shrug off his personal achievement.

“Records are always important, but the important thing is that the team wins,” Ronaldo told Sky Sport Italia post-game.

“We are a phenomenal team and we showed that again today, although we always want to improve and raise the bar.

“These things are nice, but the Capocannoniere title is a natural process that comes as a consequence of scoring to win games for the team.”

Ronaldo broke the deadlock six minutes into the second half when he converted a penalty after VAR ruled Lazio’s Bastos handled his shot inside the area.

Paulo Dybala then teed up Ronaldo for the easiest of finishes three minutes later, while Ciro Immobile’s 83rd-minute spot-kick reduced the deficit.

Juve are now eight points clear atop the table, ahead of nearest rivals Inter, with four matches remaining.

Ronaldo, who has scored 30 Serie A goals in 30 appearances to top the charts alongside Immobile, added: “We knew it was a very difficult game against a team having a great season, but we knew this was a big opportunity to win, we were at home. We’re very happy.

“There are four games to go, we cannot get this wrong and know Serie A is tough. The team is doing well, though.”

Maurizio Sarri’s Juve travel to Udinese on Thursday.