Juventus have done worse with Ronaldo than before: Cassano launches scathing attack

Andrea Pirlo's Juventus slipped further in the Serie A title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by Verona on Saturday. The defending Serie A champions now appear to be completely out of sync from the title race as they now sit 10 points behind league leaders Inter Milan. Although Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal for the Turin-based outfit, he has come under scathing attack from former Italian forward Antonio Cassano, nevertheless. 

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Juventus out of Serie A title race after Verona stalemate?

Ronaldo put his side in the front in the second half, as he tucked past a simple goal to round off Federico Chiesa's square pass in the penalty box. But Juventus failed to maintain their lead until the end of the game. Antonin Barak headed home the equaliser in the 77th minute to salvage a draw at home against the defending champions. 

Juventus have further slipped in the Serie A standings following the Verona stalemate. Pirlo's men now sit third in the Serie A title race, having racked up 46 points in 23 games this season. Inter Milan currently lead the Serie A standings, maintaining a four-point lead over second-placed AC Milan, while Juventus trail by 10 points at the top. Thus, this could make Juventus lose out on the league title for the first time in 10 years.

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Juventus' struggles on fore in the Champions League 

However, this isn't the first instance that Juventus' performance have come under the scanner. A couple of weeks ago, the Allianz Stadium outfit were handed an embarrassing defeat by FC Porto in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 clash. Interestingly, Ronaldo was roped in from Real Madrid in 2018 in an attempt to clinch the Champions League title, but have largely failed over the previous two seasons. 

And the Champions League upset against FC Porto had triggered some sharp reactions against the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Cassano had labelled Ronaldo 'selfish' and claimed that the former Real Madrid superstar wasn't completely in sync with the tactics of the Juventus manager. 

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Antonio Cassano hits out at Cristiano Ronaldo

Cassano has again hit out at Ronaldo after the draw against Verona. Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, the former Italian and Real Madrid forward said, "Juventus signed him to win the Champions League, but they've done worse with him than they've done before. They would have won the Scudetto without him. It was the wrong project."

He claims Ronaldo will continue scoring goals as he possesses the individual ability to net the ball past the net from different angles. But Pirlo believes in build-up play and pressurizing the opponents, which is where the Portuguese international does not participate much, said Cassano. 

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Image courtesy: Juventus Twitter