A goalkeeper said he could stop Cristiano Ronaldo as he had been studying his penalties but the Juventus striker still scored twice from the spot
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties against a goalkeeper who claimed to have "studied" his spot kicks beforehand.
- Prior to Sunday's match, Fiorentina keeper Bartlomiej Dragowski told Corriere dello Sport: "I know how he shoots. I'm not going to tell you how I predict he'll take penalties, or he could read this and change it."
- However the shot-stopper's mind games backfired, as he conceded against Ronaldo from 12 yards in the 40th and 80th minutes.
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Cristiano Ronaldo proved his mental fortitude on Sunday by scoring two penalties against a goalkeeper who claimed to have "studied" his spot kicks beforehand.
The Portuguese forward scored from 12 yards in the 40th and 80th minutes as Juventus beat Fiorentina 3-0 to maintain its three point lead at the top of Italy's Serie A.
Prior to the match, Fiorentina keeper Bartlomiej Dragowski told Corriere dello Sport, according to Football Italia: "I studied Cristiano Ronaldo, I know how he shoots.
"I'm not going to tell you how I predict he'll take penalties, or he could read this and change it."
For the first just penalty, the Polish shot-stopper guessed the right way, however couldn't reach the ball as it nestled into the bottom right corner.
For the second 10 minutes from full-time, he went the wrong way, diving left as Ronaldo drilled the ball right.
Defender Matthijs de Ligt added Juventus' third to complete the victory in the 91st minute.
Ronaldo's brace means he has now scored in nine consecutive Serie A games for Juve. The last player to achieve that feat was David Trezeguet in December, 2005.
It also means the 34-year-old has now hit half a century of goals for Maurizio Sarri's side in just 70 games since joining the club from Real Madrid in 2018.
"Cristiano continues to score, which is great for his mental conditioning," said Maurizio Sarri after the win, according to the club's official website. "He is now almost 100% physically fit and he's making a difference for us."
Juventus next plays Hellas Verona on Saturday, February 8.
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