Juventus might have won their midweek clash with Parma in the Serie A, but top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo found himself in the crosshair for criticism. The Bianconeri returned to winning ways, triumphing 3-1, with Sandro bagging a lovely brace. However, many felt the Portuguese ace was at fault for the visitors' only goal, slamming his contribution – or lack thereof – in stopping his team from conceding.
The Old Lady conceded first, going a goal down courtesy of an excellent Gaston Brugman free-kick goal. However, once the replays were shown, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who was part of the wall, was caught ducking from the Parma midfielder's goal-bound shot.
A similar incident happened in Juventus' unfortunate UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Porto. The Portuguese legend was guilty of turning his back on Sergio Oliveira's free-kick shot and consequentially, the ball crept between his legs and into the back of the net. That goal turned out to be the winner, sparking outrage from the fans.
Given that Ronaldo has shrugged his wall duty twice in a short span, this issue was brought to Andrea Pirlo's attention. When asked if the 36-year-old should no longer be given that responsibility, the Turin boss admitted that this is a possibility.
"Unfortunately these things happen, we will evaluate what to do in the next matches and whether to put him in the wall," the Juventus boss told Sky Sport Italia.
Fortunately, this incident did not prove costly as Cristiano and Co. came away with all three points. That victory lifted them up to third, albeit temporarily, with the Scudetto holders moving within a point of second-placed AC Milan. Unfortunately, this has done little to salvage their title defense as league leaders Inter Milan sit 11 points ahead with only six games left.
