Cristiano Ronaldo’s double helps Juventus travel past Crotone to third

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Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice when Juventus secured a 3-0 home win over Crotone ‘s low side in Serie A on Monday, with the victory taking the champions up to third place in the standings.

Juve were a bit slow to get out, but their ever-reliable talisman arrived to meet Alex Sandro’s cross in the 38th minute to lead Andrea Pirlo’s side.

Ronaldo looked hungry for more and doubled another shot in stoppage time in the first half of the lead, bringing Portugal back to the top of the league’s scoring charts on 18 goals, one ahead of Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku .

The 36-year-old had chances to finish a hat-trick but it was Weston McKennie who added the third, taking home the fourth Serie A goal of the season in the 66th minute.

The first win in four games in all competitions ensured Juve climbed from sixth to third in the table and on to 45 points, eight behind Inter leaders with a game in hand.

“Our desire to return to the top makes me feel comfortable,” said Pirlo. “I also enjoy the view of the players.

“Having more players free from injury will give me more choice and this also makes me feel comfortable. We know Inter is a good team and we know we have to fight [to win the title]. ”

Crotone remains rooted to the bottom of the table with 12 points from 23 games, eight points from the safety field.

Aaron Ramsey thought he had led the winners with only a curved band to see the ball come out of the crossbar, before Ronaldo showed him how it is done with two expertly constructed heads.

Always looking to break records, Crotone became the 78th different side Ronaldo has scored against him in all five major European leagues – only Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored in the against more teams since 2000.

A big loss at the end of the half showed Ronaldo is only human, before two good saves denied him another hat-trick after the break.

McKennie’s close-range finish ended the game no doubt, but the league’s top player was still doing everything he could, right up to the last minute, to add another one.

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