Pirlo reveals his stunning statement to Ronaldo after Juventus dropped points against Verona
- Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo revealed that he urged Cristiano Ronaldo to influence Juventus game against Verona
- The Italian champions were held to a 1-1 draw as they slipped further behind Inter Milan on the table
- Ronaldo remains Serie A's top scorer after netting his 19th goal of the season against Verona
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Andrea Pirlo's Juventus dropped points against Verona for the second time this season following their 1-1 draw away at the Stadio Bentegodi, The Sun.
The draw leave the Bioanconeri ten points behind Serie A rivals Inter Milan and their dominance in the Italian topflight division is about to be put to an end.
Pirlo revealed that he asked Cristiano Ronaldo to make himself heard in the game against Verona but it was not enough.
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The Italian gaffer had a series of injury problems in the team and travelled with a bunch of young players for the away game.
After a goalless first half, Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 48th minute to score his 19 league strike of the season.
But Antonin Barak's 77th-minute equalizer put Juve's back on the ropes as they dropped crucial points to close up with the two Milan sides on the table.
Pirlo said:
“It’s disappointing as we knew it would be a difficult and hard-fought game.
“We managed to take the lead, which was the most difficult part, then didn’t keep hold of it.
“There are these small details that unfortunately young players don’t understand can make the difference and lead to points.
“When you are in front, you must try to bring these games home.
“We were missing a lot of experienced players, so the younger elements didn’t understand the way the match was going.
“I asked Cristiano and Alex Sandro to speak to them and make their voices heard, but it wasn’t enough.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Antonin Barrak cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's goals as Juventus were forced to 1-1 draw by Verona in a tough Serie A encounter.
Ronaldo scored his 19th league goal of the season in the early minutes of the second half but Juve's joy were short-lived as Verona struck back through their substitute Barrak.
The first half did not produce any goal but Wojciech Szczesny made a significant stop from Marco Davide Faraoni to keep the scoreline goalless at the break.
Akan Anwankwo is a sports editor with Legit.ng and has 7 years of field and office experience. He graduated from the University of Lagos in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in English and Literature Studies. Akan intends to educate, inform and make readers passionate about sports. Learn more about him on his Twitter handle: @ anwankwo_akan
Source: Legit.ng
