Juventus hosted Spezia on Tuesday night knowing that there was absolutely no margin for error if they were to maintain any hope of retaining their Serie A title this season.
With no Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata only fit enough for the bench, Cristiano Ronaldo was under pressure to deliver in attack if Juventus were to surpass this potential banana skin.
But Juve had failed to score in two of their last five games in all competitions and struggled to assert themselves before half time.
Morata came on and scored just past the hour, and Federico Chiesa added a second 10 minutes later, but Ronaldo continued to struggle for an impact. He made his mark right at the end, wrapping up the win.
Juventus 3-0 Spezia: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
📷 Cristiano Ronaldo: Match Snapshot
⏱️ 42 A quiet first half saw Spezia frustrate Juventus, while attempting to threaten themselves. While the scores were level at half time, it was Ronaldo himself who went closest to opening the scoring three minutes before the break when his shot was tipped wide by Ivan Provedel.
⏱️ 77' Ronaldo looked agitated as the minutes ticked by, and with just over 10 remaining, he got his first shot at goal from a free-kick just outside the area. Whilst his effort was on target, it barely troubled Provedel in the Spezia goal.
⚽ ⏱️ 67' In the dying minutes, Ronaldo's moment arrived. He finished expertly one-on-one with Provedel, the man who had denied him twice earlier, to become the first player to score 20 goals in each of the last 12 seasons.
〽️ Cristiano Ronaldo: Rating Week-on-Week
✔ IMPROVING
Ronaldo's big moment came towards the end of a pretty difficult evening.
Tonight's 7.7 FC Rating doesn't quite tell his story, and it is down on his score against Verona at the weekend. But it is also markedly better than his score against Porto in his last Champions League outing.
His form, like Juve's has been a little sporadic lately.
🗝️ Key Stats
Ronaldo match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 7.7 | Rank #2 |
| Mins Played | 90 | |
| Goals | 1 | |
| Assists | 0 | |
| Shots | 7 | |
| Shots on target | 3 | |
| Final third passes | 16 | Rank #3 |
| Pass completion | 68% | |
| Completed dribbles | 2 | Rank #2 |
Ronaldo: What Next?
Ronaldo will be hoping to maintain the dwindling title push when Juventus host Lazio in Serie A. He will be hoping to turn their Champions League fortunes around against FC Porto this time next week.
Juventus 3-0 Spezia: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Cristiano Ronaldo 
Juventus 
Spezia 
