KEY POINTS

  • Cristiano Ronaldo set new Serie A record with his free-kick goal against Torino
  • AC Milan striker Ante Rebic also scored a goal against Lazio
  • Rebic closing in on Ronaldo's goal average this season

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has set a new Serie A record, but one of his rivals is closing in on his goal stat this season.

Despite having a poor start coming off the lockdown, Ronaldo managed to get himself back on track with an impressive show in the derby against Torino on Saturday (July 4).

The 35-year-old finally netted a free-kick goal, and in the process, set a new Serie A record. The beautiful goal saw Ronaldo becoming the first player in 60 years to hit 25 goals for Juventus in a single Serie A season.

The previous record-holder was Omar Sívori, who put his name in the record books in the 1960-61 season. Sívori scored 25 goals for the Bianconeri in the Italian top-flight until “CR7” broke it with his first-ever free-kick goal for the Italian giants.

Ronaldo has been in great form, and the decisive victory over Torino has helped the Old Lady climb back to the top of the table this season. Juventus is in the process of chasing down a ninth successive Serie A crown, and Ronaldo has evidently been a huge part of it.

However, as the Portuguese icon continues to break all-time records in Serie A, one of his goal-scoring rivals, Ante Rebic, is closing in on his goal stat this season.

On the same day Ronaldo reached the goal milestone, Rebic continued his amazing goal-scoring run after scoring AC Milan’s third goal against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

One's a crowd: the stands were empty but Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo drew a TV audience of more than 8 million when they returned to action in the Italian cup
One's a crowd: the stands were empty but Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo drew a TV audience of more than 8 million when they returned to action in the Italian cup AFP / Miguel MEDINA

The Croatian striker came off the bench at half time but was still hot enough to score his ninth goal of the year. Rebic has been prolific in 2020 and hasn’t slowed down despite the long break caused by the pandemic.

In fact, according to stats from 24sata (via Croatiaweek.com), the 26-year-old Vinjani native has been scoring a goal once every 79 minutes on the pitch in 2020.

Interestingly, Ronaldo, the other player who also scored on Saturday, is the only footballer ahead of Rebic in Serie A and has been averaging a goal every 69 minutes. Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic is third on the list with a goal every 89 minutes, followed by Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, who finds the back of the net every 95 minutes.

But what makes Rebic even more stunning is that, unlike Ronaldo, none of his goals have come from the penalty spot. Before the win against Lazio, Rebic has scored 44% of all of AC Milan’s total goals in 2020.

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