Cristiano Ronaldo continued his scoring streak with another two goals as Juventus beat Cagliari 2-0 to move second in Serie A.
Ronaldo, wearing red face paint to raise awareness of domestic violence against women, according to Reuters, has now scored eight goals in his last five matches.
“When you have a champion like Ronaldo you can achieve any result, he is an example for everyone and he only has to continue like this,” Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said.
Juventus moved a point below league leaders AC Milan, who visit Napoli on Sunday. Third-place Sassuolo are a point further back ahead of their match against Hellas Verona.
“It was important for our growth to have a match like this,” Pirlo said. “We played well from the first minute and dominated the match.”
Juventus attacked from the start and Federico Bernardeschi thought he had given his side an early lead but it was ruled out as Alvaro Morata was offside in the build-up.
The hosts finally made the pressure count seven minutes before the interval when Morata found Ronaldo, who cut in from the left and fired into the far bottom corner.
Ronaldo doubled his tally four minutes later after a corner was flicked on to him by Merih Demiral.
Juventus had chances to extend their advantage in the second half, notably when Demiral headed off the crossbar.
