Sunday saw Juventus take on Genoa in what turned out to be a memorable Serie A game for talisman forward Cristiano Ronaldo. The Bianconeri were keen on an away win over the weekend, and got just that, with their Portuguese goalscoring machine scoring a brace to earn his side the victory.
The game was tied at one-all around the hour mark, with Stefano Sturaro's equalizer cancelling out Paulo Dybala's opening goal. However, this is where the 35-year-old legend stepped up, scoring twice in the space of eleven minutes to win the game 3-1 for his team, with both strikes coming from penalties.
That game was Cristiano's 100th appearance for the Italian giants and he celebrated this milestone in fashion, netting his 78th and 79th goal for the Old Lady. However, that wasn't the only landmark the five-time Ballon d'Or winner achieved.
Sunday's victory was Ronaldo's 400th triumph in Europe's top-five leagues, a feat no other player has reached in the 21st century. Opta brought this stat to the light of day, revealing that the only player that comes close to the former Real Madrid ace is – surprise, surprise – Lionel Messi with 365 wins, with Buffon (350) coming in at third.
400 - #CristianoRonaldo become the first player to reach 400 wins in the top-5 European League in 2000s. Lionel Messi is second in this ranking with 365 wins (Buffon third, 350). Winner.#GenoaJuve pic.twitter.com/otJ5vWuuzy
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 13, 2020
The 35-year-old took to social media to celebrate this achievement, taking pride in hitting this landmark with the iconic Juventus club. Next up on his target is the 100-goal mark, which should follow shortly, given his spectacular form.
As for Juventus, they have now moved level on points with third-placed Napoli and are four adrift of league leaders AC Milan. Pirlo's men will not be in action until Wednesday when they host Atalanta, with their immediate focus being on today's UEFA Champions League draw, with the Serie A champions set to find out their opponent in the round of 16.
