Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show as Juventus recorded a 2-1 win away at Inter Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.Lautaro Martinez broke the deadlock for the hosts at San Siro, but Ronaldo turned the game on its head with two goals before half-time.The legendary Portuguese forward levelled the scores from the penalty spot in the 26th minute before completing the turnaround with a neat finish less than 10 minutes later.Ronaldo was congratulated by his former club Real Madrid on Twitter after his latest brace.According to Los Blancos’ stats, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now officially the highest goalscorer in history after surpassing Pele and Josef Bican’s records this week.
Ronaldo frustrated after being subbed off
So, a great night for Ronaldo, right?
Well, not entirely. The man himself was visibly frustrated after Juve boss Andrea Pirlo subbed him off with 13 minutes of normal time remaining.
Ronaldo was clearly desperate to complete his hat-trick but was denied the opportunity to add another match-ball to his collection by his manager.
Watch Ronaldo’s reaction here…
While his reaction isn’t *that* surprising - it’s Ronaldo, after all - it’s hard to image another player his age reacting the same way.
He celebrates his 36th birthday on Friday but hasn’t lost his insatiable appetite for goals. If anything, that hunger is as strong now as it’s even been during his illustrious career.
Pirlo's message to Ronaldo
Asked about Ronaldo’s frustrated reaction, Pirlo told reporters (per talkSPORT) that it’s his decision which players are subbed off.
“There is no contract clause that says he can’t be subbed off,” Pirlo reminded Ronaldo.
“He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.”
Indeed, Pirlo will want Ronaldo raring to go for this weekend’s Serie A clash against AS Roma.
No doubt Ronaldo will be desperate to celebrate his birthday by adding a few more goals to his remarkable tally.
Juve currently sit one point behind third-placed Roma and seven behind league-leaders AC Milan.