Cristiano Ronaldo Backed By Former Juventus Star After Being Criticized Over Missed Penalty

A former Juventus star backed Cristiano Ronaldo after the latter missed a penalty in the Coppa final against Milan.

Many were thrilled to witness Ronaldo getting back in action after months of being on hiatus due the global coronavirus pandemic. However, not everybody was pleased with how the Portuguese icon performed.

All eyes were on Ronaldo on Saturday (June 13) as Serie A giants Juventus took on Milan. But instead of witnessing another goal scoring game from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, fans watching at home were left “disappointed.” Ronaldo didn’t manage to score a goal the entire game, and even worse, he missed a penalty shot, which saw him getting heavily criticized.

Despite the poor performance from the entire Juve squad, ex-Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero justified Ronaldo’s performance. While speaking to Sky Sport (via Besoccer.com), Del Piero was more sympathetic rather than critical to “CR7.”

According to Del Piero, a missed penalty doesn’t make Ronaldo less of a superstar.

"Some are better off physically, it's understandable. He's very experienced and I don't think a missed penalty will hurt him, but it's clearly annoying,” Del Piero said of Ronaldo.

“He has moved well, although he had moments with errors in simple things; he will grow in time. Some people are better off physically than he is, that's understandable,” he added.

Overall, Del Piero still thought Ronaldo played a great game. He also pointed out that fans may have not understood that it’s “all very difficult” to play and win an important game after a long period of inactivity.

"It's been three months since they've played, and now they're coming back without fans and already with a decisive knockout tie. It was all very difficult after a unique historical period. He had his weight on the game,” Del Piero pointed out.

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri was still pleased with how his ace player performed. For Sarri, there’s nothing much to buzz about Ronaldo’s missed penalty as he was just “unlucky.”

Sarri further stated that he “was very surprised and satisfied” with Juve in the opening 30 minutes. However, he also concluded that it was not only Ronaldo who played well in the beginning, but “everyone had a strong opening 30 minutes and then faded away.”

Aside from Ronaldo, Miralem Pjanic also had a bad game. But despite an underwhelming soccer comeback, Juve still managed to make the Coppa Italia final. The Old Lady are set to take on Bologna next on June 23.