Ronaldo's penalty completes Juventus 2-1 win

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late penalty to give Juventus a 2-1 win at Lazio, extending the Bianconeri's lead at the top of Serie A to 11 points.

The Portuguese superstar and his compatriot Joao Cancelo on Sunday scored in the final 15 minutes to complete the comeback and salvage a match that the Roman team had dominated for the first hour, reports Efe news.

Ronaldo scored the winner to conclude a difficult week for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner after he appeared at a court in Spain to plead guilty to tax fraud.

He has also been the subject of a police investigation amid allegations of rape in a hotel room in Las Vegas in 2009 which Ronaldo denies.

Juventus were second best throughout the opening period and into the second half, and went behind after midfielder Emre Can turned the ball into his own net from a Luis Alberto corner.

It was the least Lazio deserved, after they had dominated the ball and capitalized on Juventus's passiveness in possession.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri sent on Federico Bernardeschi and Cancelo in a bid to rescue a result and the changes had the desired impact.

Cancelo levelled the score on 74 minutes when he pounced on a rebound from Paulo Dybala's strike, before he won a penalty after a counter attack led by Bernardeschi.

Ronaldo stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 88th minute and extend his team's lead at the top of the league, where they are a massive 11 points better off than Napoli in second, after they drew 0-0 against AC Milan.

Juventus, who have won the last seven Serie A titles, have drawn just twice so far this season, racking up 19 wins in the process and look odds-on to win their eighth consecutive league championship.

The Bianconeri face Spain's Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the first leg of which takes place on February 20.

--IANS

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