Sarri praises Ronaldo’s big game attitude

Juventus manager, Maurizio Sarri has praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s ability to handle pressure after the Portuguese superstar scored a brace in Saturday’s (July 11) 2-2 Serie A draw at home to Atalanta.

Ronaldo netted two penalties in Turin as Juve rescued a point at the death against the high-flying Bergamo club. The Portugal international cancelled out Duvan Zapata’s opener before securing a point in the 90th minute after Ruslan Malinovskiy had restored Atalanta’s lead.

Sarri, whose side are eight points clear at the top with six games to play, was suitably impressed by Ronaldo’s heroics and duly took the time to acknowledge the attacker’s prowess. 
“He is a champion with his feet but also with his head,” Sarri told a news conference.
“He manages to handle the pressures he has on him in an incredible way.”

Juventus were coming off a 4-2 loss to Milan on Tuesday (July 7) and maintained a nine-point lead over third-placed Atalanta.

Sarri felt Juventus deserved their point, with their busy run of fixtures continuing against Sassuolo on Wednesday.
“Tonight’s point was sweaty and deserved. We drew against one of the best teams in Europe and it’s a very important result,” he said.
“Merit goes to a second half of quality, in which we attacked Atalanta higher, while focusing on their physical decline, and we scored goals in our best moment.
“The game in Milan, in which we played well for a long time, could have left us with waste. In the first half, we suffered, but in the second half we came out well.
“The Scudetto race is by no means closed, there are still 18 points available. It is a very difficult phase of the season, the games are very expensive, and it is difficult to find continuity,” he explained.