Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo Put Domestic Ban Behind Him To Score Winner

Published

7 years ago

August 24, 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo put his five-match domestic suspension behind him to score the winning goal as Real Madrid beat Fiorentina 2-1 to claim the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy.

In a friendly encounter, which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Real’s second European Cup success, Jordan Veretout put the visitors ahead but his early strike was cancelled out Borja Mayoral.

And Ronaldo, who still has three games left to serve on his ban for pushing a referee during the Spanish Super Cup first leg against Barcelona, was Real’s match-winner once again with a special strike in the 33rd minute.

Real, who started their La Liga campaign with a 3-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna last Sunday, put out a side featuring largely young players and reserves – apart from Ronaldo, who completed 90 minutes.

Sergio Ramos, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez all played a part for the hosts but did not complete the full game.

Fiorentina took an early lead in the fourth minute thanks to Veretout’s strike from the edge of the area.

However, Real were back on level terms three minutes later. Ronaldo was involved, crossing for Mayoral to tap home from close range.

The Serie A side almost took the lead again when Davide Astori’s acrobatic effort crashed back off the crossbar, but they were behind in the 33rd minute when Ronaldo’s exquisite strike found the far corner.

After the break, a host of substitutions disrupted the flow of the game as Luca Zidane, Manu Hernando and Alvaro Tejero came on for Kiko Casilla, Sergio Ramos and Nacho.

It took until the 82nd minute for Real to almost extend their lead. Isco’s shot from the edge of the box was superbly saved Bartlomiej Dragowski.

The rebound fell to Ronaldo, who saw his shot hit the post as Real continued their flying start to the season with another victory.