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Monday | August 03, 2026 | Dhaka

Ronaldo responds to award reports by leading Juventus to win

 New Nation
 Published: 12:00 AM, 26 November 2018  Updated: 6:15 AM, 30 September 2022
Juventus' Mario Mandzukic (center) vies for the ball with Spal's Mohamed Fares during an Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Spal, at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy on Saturday.
Juventus' Mario Mandzukic (center) vies for the ball with Spal's Mohamed Fares during an Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Spal, at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy on Saturday.

AP, Rome :
Nothing seems to motivate Cristiano Ronaldo more than the suggestion that other players are better than him.
That was evident when Ronaldo skipped the UEFA player of the year award ceremony in August when he learned that former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric gained the honor.
Now, amid reports that he’s been left off the podium for the Ballon d’Or prize to be presented next month, teammates say Ronaldo trained harder than ever this week.
The training paid off, as Ronaldo scored the opening goal and helped set up the second as Juventus extended its unbeaten start in Serie A by beating promoted Spal 2-0 on Saturday.
Croatia international Modric and France teammates Kylian Mbappe Raphael Varane are reportedly the finalists for the Ballon d’Or – which would mean that panelists relied heavily on the World Cup, where France beat Croatia for the title.
Before transferring to Juventus, Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to its third straight Champions League title last season, and led the competition with 15 goals – five more than anyone else.
Ronaldo’s latest score gave him nine in Serie A, matching Genoa’s Krzysztof Piatek for tops in the league.
Near the half-hour mark, Ronaldo beat everyone to redirect in a free kick from Miralem Pjanic.
In the 60th, Ronaldo’s pull back on a counterattack set up a shot for Douglas Costa, whose effort was swatted into the path of Mario Mandzukic, who scored from the rebound.
“Ronaldo is a step ahead of his opponents,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “On the second goal, as soon as he gained control he knew that he was going to pull it back to Douglas Costa.”
Juventus moved nine points ahead of second-place Napoli, which hosts Chievo Verona on Sunday.
All players, coaches and referees had red marks painted on their faces as part of a Serie A campaign to combat violence against women.
Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit in September in Nevada claiming Ronaldo raped her in his Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Police reopened an investigation into the allegation at her request. Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.
Keita Balde scored twice and set up another goal as Inter Milan beat visiting Frosinone 3-0 to move level on points with Napoli.