Milan: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick Monday to lift Juventus to the top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over Cagliari as Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his return debut for AC Milan in a goalless draw against Sampdoria.
Portugal forward Ronaldo struck for the fifth consecutive league game to move the champions back above Inter Milan in their first match since the Italian Super Cup defeat to Lazio in Saudi Arabia last month.
Maurizio Sarri’s side had been pegged back in the first half by the sixth-placed Sardinians who have been pushing for a spot in the Champions League places this season but fell to their third consecutive defeat.
The second half was all one-way traffic with 34-year-old Ronaldo breaking the deadlock just after the interval. He added a second from the penalty spot on 67 minutes with Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain coming off the bench to strike a third on 81 minutes, before the Portuguese completed his hat-trick a minute later.
Juve are three points ahead of Inter in the table with Antonio Conte’s side travelling to Napoli later Monday, looking to keep pace with the eight-time reigning champions.
Atalanta closed to within a point of fourth-placed Roma, who lost 2-0 to Torino, Sunday, with a 5-0 rout of Parma, having also beaten AC Milan by the same scoreline before the winter break.
At the San Siro, Swedish star Ibrahimovic made his debut for Milan coming off the bench after 55 minutes against Sampdoria.
The 38-year-old came on for Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek to deafening applause from the 58,000 crowd in his first appearance after rejoining the club last week.
But there was little else to cheer for the hosts who extended their winless run to three games and remain 12th in the table.
AFP
