MILAN: When the first goal finally came, it couldn’t have been any easier for Cristiano Ronaldo.

It took the former Real Madrid forward nearly 320 minutes to score his first league goal for Juventus and he did it with the simplest of tap-ins.

Ronaldo doubled his tally shortly after as the Bianconeri beat Sassuolo 2-1 in Serie A on Sunday.

But there was controversy in Turin as Juve winger Douglas Costa was sent off late on after being caught on camera spitting at Sassuolo’s Federico Di Francesco.

It was Ronaldo’s fourth league match for Juve since his Serie A record 112 million euro (then $131.5 million) move from Real and the relief on his face was obvious as he tore away in celebration after breaking his duck in the 50th minute. Ronaldo ran to the corner flag with his arms outstretched and displaying a huge grin. He then jumped in the air as he turned back to the field and waited to be embraced by almost all his team-mates, who ran over to celebrate with him.

“I wanted to score, I’m really happy,” said Ronaldo, who had missed several good chances in previous games. “That’s football. What’s most important is to win and to do well. Certainly there was a bit of pressure in general after my move from Real, there was a lot of expectation. That’s life, I’m working well. My teammates are helping me hugely to adapt to this new league.”

Amid much less fanfare, Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain, who left Juve on loan shortly after Ronaldo’s arrival, scored his first goal for AC Milan to earn them a 1-1 draw at Cagliari.

AS Roma warmed up for their visit to Real Madrid on Wednesday by squandering a 2-0 lead and drawing 2-2 at home to lowly Chievo Verona.

Sassuolo allowed Ronaldo few openings in the first half apart from an early shot which was blocked and a header wide from Alex Sandro’s cross.

He also tried his luck from a 30-metre free kick, sending a disappointing effort harmlessly wide of Andrea Consigli’s goal.

But Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri’s prediction that it would be Ronaldo’s day proved to be right.

His first goal came after Sassuolo defender Gian Marco Ferrari could only head a Juve corner onto the left post and Ronaldo was waiting to volley in a rebound from less than two yards out in the 50th minute.

The Portugal forward had scored his first league goal in his fourth match last season for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo added a second 15 minutes later when he finished off a swift counterattack with a precise finish into the bottom right corner.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was denied a hat-trick by a fine save from Consigli, while he also mishit a clear opportunity late on.

Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar headed in a consolation goal for Sassuolo in injury-time as the side from Modena fell to their first defeat of the season.

COSTA DISMISSED FOR SPITTING

Costa had seemingly elbowed Di Francesco — the 24-year-old son of Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco — in the buildup to that goal and, as the pair continued to argue, the Juve midfielder appeared to head butt his opponent.

Costa was lucky to only be shown a yellow card at first but he received a straight red moments later after video review showed he had also spat at Di Francesco. The Brazil international risks a lengthy ban.

“I would like to apologise to all the Juventus fans for my wrong reaction during today’s game,” wrote Costa on Instagram. “I also apologise to my teammates, who are always by my side, in good and bad times. It was ugly, I am aware of that and I apologise to everyone for that. I want to make clear that this isolated conduct has nothing to do with what I’ve shown throughout my career.”

Juve are the only unbeaten side after Napoli inflicted a first loss on Fiorentina on Saturday with a 1-0 win ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Red Star Belgrade. Sassuolo are third with seven points.

Bolstered by five-time winner Ronaldo, Juve begin their quest for a first Champions League title since 1996 at Valencia on Wednesday.

“The Champions League is my favourite tournament,” said Ronaldo, who scored 15 goals in the tournament last season. “It’s a very difficult group, we know that we can do well and Juve must focus on being the best.”

Roma’s confidence was dented ahead of their daunting midweek trip to Champions League holders Real, as bottom club Chievo came from two goals down to snatch a draw at the Stadio Olimpico.

Stephan El Shaarawy and Bryan Cristante put Roma, who lost to AC Milan before the international break, firmly in command at half-time.

But Chievo, beaten 6-1 by Fiorentina last time out and on minus points after being deducted three points by the Italian football federation for false accounting, battled back in the second half.

Valter Birsa pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute, with Polish striker Mariusz Stepinski sealing a point for the club from Verona seven minutes from time.

Roma are ninth with five points from four games — already seven points adrift of Juve — and also behind city rivals Lazio who won at Empoli with Marco Parolo scoring the only goal.

Brazilian Joao Pedro, in his first game back after a six-month doping ban, gave Cagliari a fourth-minute lead with an untidy effort against Milan before Higuain levelled with an opportunist goal 10 minutes after halftime.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2018