After each matchday in La Liga and Serie A, Sportsnet will look at how Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did, and compare their performances.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Juventus seemed destined to suffer its first loss of the Serie A season on Sunday in Rome after going down 1-0 to Lazio and being completely outplayed by the biancocelesti for the opening 70 minutes.
But then Juve equalized through substitute Joao Cancelo, and Cristiano Ronaldo converted from the penalty spot in the 88th minute to lift Juve to a dramatic 2-1 win. The bianconeri are now unbeaten in Serie A after 21 games, and enjoy a 11-point lead over second-place Napoli, who tied AC Milan earlier in the weekend.
The goal was Ronaldo’s 15th in Serie A this season, moving him into second place in the scoring race – Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella leads the Italian topflight with 16 goals. It was a bit of redemption for the Portuguese, who saw his penalty attempt saved during a win over Chievo Verona.
Before his late heroics, Ronaldo was kept completely quiet by Lazio, as he wasn’t even able to record a single shot. It was a subpar performance by Ronaldo and Juventus, who on the balance of play were incredibly lucky to walk away with a single point – never mind three.
“For 50-60 minutes it was the worst Juventus of the season,” Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini admitted. “We always struggle against Lazio but we’re leaving with a good result.”
LIONEL MESSI
Messi extended his La Liga scoring streak to seven consecutive games (10 goals during this run), as his goal in the 68th minute sealed a 2-0 road win for Barcelona over Girona on Sunday. The victory was Barca’s eighth straight in the Spanish first division, and allowed the Catalans to extend their lead atop the table over second-place Atletico Madrid to five points.
Messi was the driving force behind Barcelona’s attack, registering seven shots in total (two on target) in a fabulous 90-minute performance. Girona was reduced to 10 men when defender Bernardo Espinosa earned a second yellow card in the 52nd minute.
Shortly after his expulsion, Luis Suarez played a ball out wide that sent Barca teammate Jordi Alba clear down the left flank. The defender expertly picked out Messi at the top of the box and the Argentine padded Barca’s lead with a beautiful chip shot over Girona goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Messi’s goal was his La Liga-leading 19th of the season. He was back in Barcelona’s starting 11 after he scored as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Leganes in La Liga last weekend.
It was a man-of-the-match effort from Messi, who earned a 8.66 rating from WhoScored.com, as he also completed four key passes and made two tackles.
Lionel Messi has now been directly involved in at least one goal in his last fourteen consecutive LaLiga games:
15 goals
8 assistsSeriously hot form. pic.twitter.com/32kdG9zdLr
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 27, 2019
SEASON STATS
Lionel Messi in La Liga
Top line stats: 19 goals, 10 assists, 19 games played
Total minutes: 1,527
Total shots: 89
Shots on target: 47
Pass success rate: 82.4%
WhoScored.com rating: 8.58 (ranked #1 in La Liga)
Cristiano Ronaldo in Serie A
Top line stats: 15 goals, 5 assists, 21 games played
Total minutes: 1,815
Total shots: 134
Shots on target: 54
Pass success rate: 85.6%
WhoScored.com rating: 7.68 (ranked #1 in Serie A)
HAVE YOUR SAY
[polldaddy poll=10224110]
MATCHDAY 21: MESSI OR RONALDO?
No contest. Despite Ronaldo’s late heroics, he was largely anonymous for Juventus – to be fair, he wasn’t the only Juventus player that struggled against a swarming Lazio side. Messi not only scored against Girona, but was incredibly influential for Barcelona the entire match.
Advantage: Lionel Messi.
NEXT UP
Barcelona hosts Sevilla in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday – Sevilla won the opener 2-0. The Catalans then host Valencia in La Liga action on Feb. 2.
Juventus plays away to Atalanta in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals on Wednesday, then hosts Parma in Seria A play on Feb. 2.
[relatedlinks]
