Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed star striker Cristiano Ronaldo as being in a class of his own after he bagged a precious away goal in their 1-1 Champions League quarter-final draw at Ajax on Wednesday.
Ronaldo put Juventus in front on the stroke of half-time with a diving header to take his record goal tally in the competition to 125.
But then Brazilian winger David Neres levelled after half-time to put the tie on a knife edge for next week's return leg in Turin.
"Ronaldo showed that he is on a different level," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia. "His timing and movement is different to everyone else's. There's nothing you can do about it.
"He is a player who just has a different technique than the others."
Ronaldo was returning from a two-week injury layoff.
Ajax piled on the pressure at the Johann Cruyff Arena, going close several times before Douglas Costa nearly delivered a late sucker punch for Juve but struck the woodwork.
Ajax's spectacular comeback from a 2-1 first-leg home defeat to Real Madrid with a thumping 4-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous round showed that the tie is far from over.
"It's a good result because we scored away from home. The tie is still open," said Allegri, who is looking to guide Juve to their first Champions League since 1996, when they beat Ajax in Rome.
"We were good defensively, the team was nice and compact. There is good reason to think we can get to the semi-finals.
"We are not worried, we have great respect for Ajax but you have to be ready. One each is better than 0-0. In Turin we will have to play to win."
HAJJAN
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
