Ronaldo gunning for revenge against Valencia

TURIN, Italy: Cristiano Ronaldo is in hot form and gunning for revenge going into Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Valencia after seeing red against the Spaniards in the away leg, with Juventus needing a draw in Turin to book their ticket to the knockout rounds of the European competition.

“Happy to have helped the team on another important win,” the 33-year-old wrote on social media after scoring his tenth goal this season for the Italian giants in Saturday’s 2-0 win over SPAL as Juventus opened up a record eight-point lead on the top of Serie A after 13 games. Ronaldo was purchased by Juventus for 100 million euros ($113 million) from Real Madrid last summer to help their quest for the elusive Champions League title after finishing runners up twice in the past four seasons.

But the Portuguese superstar is also proving to be a key element in the team’s race towards an eighth straight Serie A title, with nine goals and five assists of their 28 goals this season. No Italian team have ever achieved 37 points from the first 13 games, with Ronaldo becoming the fastest forward in the club’s history to score 10 goals in all competitions.

“I don’t not care about the numbers. I don’t count anything, the important thing is that we take it home in May,” said coach Massimiliano Allegri. Next up is a Group H return leg clash against Valencia, who beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in La Liga at the weekend, but are midtable in Spain. Juventus are top of the group with nine points after four games, with Manchester United two points behind and the Spaniards on five. Ronaldo’s Champions League debut for Juventus in September was marred when he was controversially sent off in tears after half an hour for a small push on Valencia defender Jeison Murillo in Spain. The red card was his first in 154 Champions League appearances, but Juventus still went on to beat the Spaniards 2-0.