Cristiano Ronaldo has received a whole lot of criticism after he didn’t step up to take a penalty in the Coppa Italia final shoot-out defeat to Napoli.
Despite seeing a spot-kick saved in his return to action in the semi-final against AC Milan, Ronaldo is comfortably Juventus’ best penalty taker and is normally immune to pressure in the big moments.
But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t even get to take one last night.
Both Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed from 12 yards while Napoli scored all four through Lorenzo Insigne, Matteo Politano, Nikola Maksimovic and Arkadiusz Milik – the latter putting away the winner to secure Gennaro Gattuso’s first trophy. And many believe Ronaldo didn’t take a penalty because he wanted to be fifth on the list and ultimately the hero – something which has happened in the past. Juventus had won the Coppa Italia three years in a row prior to Ronaldo’s arrival, while Napoli’s win brought a first trophy in six seasons at the San Paolo.
Is it fair grounds to criticise Ronaldo or is reaching a bit?
