Cristiano Ronaldo was kept quiet on a difficult evening for Juventus, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.
The 36-year-old barely impacted the game at all, and it told in the end despite a late rally from Juve which could make a huge difference in the second leg.
Porto 2-1 Juventus: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Cristiano Ronaldo: Match Snapshot
Juventus were caught out within a minute of kick-off when Rodrigo Bentancur’s weak backpass to Wojciech Szczesny allowed Mehdi Taremi to tackle the goalkeeper and give Porto the lead.
It didn’t spark the visitors into life, though, and they spent much of the first half looking to get themselves going. Ronaldo was barely able to get on the ball, with Porto instead continuing into the ascendancy.
Szcznesy was lucky not to concede a second half way through the first half. His clearance was pounced on by the impressive Sergio Oliveira, courtesy of Porto’s high press, but Matthijs de Ligt deflected his shot wide.
Ronaldo was powerless to stop Moussa Marega adding a second for Porto even quicker after the restart than Taremi’s in the first half.
Federico Chiesa kept the tie alive with an away goal inside the last 10 minutes, but Ronaldo remained very much on the periphery.
️ Cristiano Ronaldo: Rating Week-On-Week
REGRESSION
Ronaldo had also struggled in his last outing, a 1-0 defeat to Napoli in Serie A that saw him earn a 6.5 FC Rating.
But he was effectively a spectator throughout this match and will need to have a much greater impact back in Turin than a performance that earned him a 6.2 FC Rating.
️ Key Stats
Cristiano Ronaldo match stats
Statistic | Value |
FC Rating | 6.2 |
Mins Played | 90 |
Goals | 0 |
Shots | 0 |
Shots on Target | 1 |
Touches in the box | 5 |
Cristiano Ronaldo: What Next?
Like his old rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo must act if he is to save his latest Champions League campaign. Seeing him so ineffectual was rare, but all is not lost heading into the return leg.
Porto 2-1 Juventus: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats