Getting Ronaldo And Messi's Argentina Teammate To Play Together ‘Not Easy’, Admits Juventus Boss Sarri

Getting Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Paulo Dybala to play together in the same team is not an easy job, admits Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri.

Dybala moved from Palermo to Juventus ahead of the 2015-16 season and instantly clicked as he ended his debut season with 23 goals in 46 appearances. His best run for the "Old Lady" happened in the 2017-18 season when he had netted 26 goals in as many as 46 matches, across all tournaments.

Dybala, who plays alongside Lionel Messi in Argentina national side, suffered a major dip in form in 2018-19, the same season when Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid. While Ronaldo kickstarted his Italian journey on a high, having scored 28 goals in 43 matches, Dybala managed only 10 goals. Ever since the Argentinian has not managed to revive his form.

The arrival of Sarri as the new manager also has not helped the 26-year-old forward yet, who is been linked with a move away from Juventus ahead of the summer transfer window.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has scored 20+ goals for the second season in a row as he is the current leading goal-scorer for Juventus in the ongoing 2019-20 season with 25 goals ahead of Dybala, who has scored 12 goals less.

Juventus boss Sarri, in a recent interview, has revealed that it is tough to “coexist” the two forwards in the same line-up before adding that he relishes the challenge.

“Dybala is a phenomenal player. The point is to make him and Cristiano coexist on the field because it is not easy to make them play together. But when two players with this type of quality are available, the rest of the squad has to adapt, both when attacking and defending."

"There is the risk that the opposition penalty area can seem a little empty, but all this is a very pleasant problem to have,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia, as per Spanish media outlet AS.

When Serie A begins in the coming days, after a break of nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Juventus will aim to retain its top position. Since the Italian champions are only one point ahead of second-placed Lazio, they will hope the likes of Ronaldo and Dybala to produce their best performance to ensure Juventus clinches their ninth consecutive Serie A title.