TURIN, Italy — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a thumping penalty and created goals for Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain as Juventus hammered 10-man Lecce 4-0 on Friday to stretch their lead over Lazio at the top of Serie A to seven points.
With Lecce's Fabio Lucioni getting a straight red card for a clumsy challenge after 32 minutes, Juve took the lead in the 53rd when Ronaldo fed Dybala, who clipped a superb shot into the top corner.
"La Joya" al rescate, con este golazo pone arriba a Juventus. #Juventus #SerieA pic.twitter.com/u0j0gWH3tZ
— ESPN Deportes (@ESPNDeportes) June 26, 2020
Ronaldo converted a penalty nine minutes later after being felled in the box.
Cristiano de penal pone el 2-0 a favor de la Juve. #Juventus #SerieA pic.twitter.com/13MljHBm4U
— ESPN Deportes (@ESPNDeportes) June 26, 2020
A clever backheel from the Portuguese forward set up substitute Higuain to score in the 83rd minute, and Matthijs de Ligt added the fourth with a close-range header from Douglas Costa's cross to complete the rout.
Ronaldo also missed on an acrobatic bicycle attempt and a header from near point-blank range. In the second half, he took a shot on goal with his arm, which was called back for hand ball, though Ronaldo argued for a penalty kick for being pulled down by his defender.
¡La que se le fue a Cristiano! #Juventus #SerieA pic.twitter.com/zFVbHvRykT
— ESPN Deportes (@ESPNDeportes) June 26, 2020
Juventus, bidding for its ninth successive Italian title, moved to 69 points after 28 games, seven clear of Lazio who have a match in hand.
Lecce remained third bottom on 25 points, behind Genoa on goal difference and one point adrift of Sampdoria in 16th spot.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ed Osmond.)
