Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday finally broke his duck for Juventus as the Portuguese forward scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win over Sassuolo for the Italian champions to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Ronaldo, goalless in his first three games since his move from Real Madrid, tapped in shortly after half-time. The 33-year-old then finished off a rapid counter-attack by shooting into the bottom corner after 65 minutes.
Sassuolo pulled one back in added time via Khouma Babacar and Douglas Costa was sent off but the hosts held on.
Juve’s Brazilian winger was dismissed after a video assistant referee intervention for spitting at Federico di Francesco, having aimed a headbutt at the same player and appeared to try to elbow him.
Ronaldo could have completed a hat-trick late on but missed two easy chances from inside the penalty area. The win is Juventus’ fourth from four games this season.
Ronaldo had been on the pitch for 320 minutes in Serie A this season before scoring his first goal since his remarkable summer move.