Massimiliano Allegri has joked about what Cristiano Ronaldo must do to pay for his sins against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. The 51-year-old manager's words followed Saturday's 3-0 triumph over Fiorentina which saw the 33-year-old score his 10th goal of the season in only 14 appearances.
The feat, as a result, ensured that the ex-Real Madrid forward match a 60-year-old record in the Italian Serie A. Ronaldo became the first player since John Charles in 1957/58 to score at least 10 goals in a single league campaign.
In retrospect, Cristiano Ronaldo, after scoring twice in the final of the 2017 edition of the Champions League, knocked out Juventus with a spot-kick in a controversial quarter-final tie in last season's edition. With his heroics still lingering in the minds of most Juventus fans, Allegri teased that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner must always score Juventus' penalties in order to win the affection of fans for troubling the Old Ladies on the European front.
When quizzed on who has the mandate to take the Bianconeri's spot-kicks, he said to a news conference: "Ronaldo takes the penalties.
"After he's scored that one against us in the [98th] minute at 139km/h, am I supposed to let somebody else do that? "He has to do something to be forgiven.
"He's got to take penalties and score... always.
10 - Prior to Cristiano Ronaldo, the last Juventus player able to score at least 10 goals in his first Serie A season after MD14 was John Charles in 1957/58. Legend.#FiorentinaJuventus #SerieA pic.twitter.com/ByuEe1JtRn
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 1, 2018
"The win wasn't easy, as the atmosphere was passionate and the whole city had been waiting for this game," Allegri added.
"I asked the lads to stay solid and after a period where we didn't play all that well, allowing them to keep the ball for 10 minutes straight, we reorganized.
"The second goal helped us shake off the tension and we relaxed into our lead. We had more chances and could certainly have gone 2-0 up earlier.
"You have to be wary, as in Florence the games are never over until the final whistle, they have great technique and pace, but we defended well on their crosses."
While Juventus established an 11-points gap atop the Serie A table with the win, Cristiano Ronaldo also took his goal tally in 18 games for Juventus to 11.
