TURIN: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score 50 goals in Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League as his double against Lazio in a 2-1 win lifted Juventus to the brink of the Serie A title again.
Juve are eight points clear of Inter Milan and need four points to clinch a ninth consecutive title.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a penalty and tapped in a second from Paulo Dybala’s pass. Ciro Immobile scored a penalty to pull one back for fourth-placed Lazio.
Ronaldo and Immobile are joint top scorers in Serie A with 30 goals each. Portugal captain Ronaldo is bidding to become the first Juve player to win the Serie A golden boot since Alessandro del Piero in 2007-08.
Juventus – who had failed to win in their previous three games – now only need four points in their last four games to seal the first league title of manager Maurizio Sarri’s career.
Ronaldo was the difference between the teams. The 35-year-old scored a penalty awarded by the video assistant referee after a Bastos handball to make it 1-0.
He then finished off a two-on-one after being unselfishly set up by Dybala.
Juve looked in control and Ronaldo hit the crossbar with a header as he searched for a hat-trick, but they ended up hanging on when Leonardo Bonucci brought down Immobile, who scored from the spot.
Ronaldo is only the third Juve player ever to score 30 goals in a Serie A season, while Immobile is the fifth Italian to reach that landmark.
The pair have also equalled the record of penalties scored in a Serie A season with 12, level with Lazio’s Giuseppe Signori in 1995-96.
Ronaldo is the fastest player to score 50 goals in Serie A this century, with 61 appearances. His second goal was his 51st.
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