- The Portuguese forward attempted eight shots on goal but only three were on target.
- He was substituted in the 81st minute and named Juventus' worst playe by WhoScored.
- Douglas Costa was the hero on the night for Juve as the Brazilian scoring a marvellous winning goal in the 93rd minute.
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Cristiano Ronaldo endured yet another frustrating night in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as Juventus beat Locomotiv Moscow 2-1.
Cristiano Ronaldo endured yet another frustrating night in the Champions League on Wednesday as Juventus beat Locomotiv Moscow 2-1.
The Portugal international was subbed-off in the 81st minute after a wasteful performance in which he managed a total of eight shots on goal, but only three were on target. None found the net.
He also completed only 75% of his passes on the night, and made just one dribble, seeing him earn the dishonor of being Juventus' worst player on the night, according to the football statistics website WhoScored.
The performance capped what has been a difficult past 12 months in Europe for Ronaldo.
Last year, the former Real Madrid forward was sent off in Juventus' Champions League opener against Valencia, subsequently missing the next two games. Upon his return, he scored just once in the next five games as Juventus slumped to defeats against Manchester United, BSC Young Boys, and Atletico Madrid.
A hat-trick in Juve's return fixture against Atletico redeemed his campaign slightly, as did two further goals in the semifinals against Ajax, but it couldn't stop the Italian giant crashing out at the last four.
This term, Ronaldo has managed just one goal in four Champions League games, that being an 88th minute strike in a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. He's also failed to register a single assist.
Douglas Costa was the hero on the night for Juventus
Even though Ronaldo couldn't get on the scoresheet, Juventus still had impactful players.
Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring after just three minutes, prodding home a week Ronaldo free kick which had been spilled by Locomotiv keeper Guilherme Marinato. It would have been Ronaldo's goal had the Welshman not intervened, however Ramsey was quick to take the chance to grab his second goal for the club since his summer move from Arsenal.
The Russian team equalized fewer than 10 minutes later when Aleksey Miranchuk scored, coming close to a second moments later when he headed over from close range, before midfielder Joao Mario had a shot cleared off the line by Leonardo Bonucci in the 78th minute.
Despite absorbing most the pressure throughout the 90 minutes, Juventus found itself a sensational injury time winner from an unlikely source in Douglas Costa. The Brazilian dribbled past four Locomotiv players, playing a neat exchange with Gonzalo Higuain, before poking the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper.
Juventus win at the Lokomotiv Stadium saw it secure its place in the competition's last 16 for the sixth year running.
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