Juventus would be Serie A leaders without the ‘Ronaldo effect’

Juventus are climbing the Serie A table despite a rough start to the season, which was also caused by the sudden departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and would be on top of the table if it wasn’t for the first four matches.

The Bianconeri collected just two points from their opening four Serie A matches, drawing against Milan and Udinese and losing against Empoli at home and Napoli away. The Old Lady’s campaign began with a draw in Udine where Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score a late winner, which was disallowed after a VAR check.

De Ligt opens up about Vlahovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus future

The Portuguese star left Turin a few days later, returning to Manchester United and the Bianconeri lost the following match against newly promoted Empoli. Juventus director Cherubini admitted in September that it hadn’t been easy to handle Ronaldo’s exit in the last few days of the summer transfer window and Matthijs de Ligt has claimed that the Bianconeri needed a hitman like Dusan Vlahovic in the first part of the campaign, after Ronaldo’s departure.

His move to Manchester United affected Juventus also on the pitch, but Allegri’s men have partially recovered the lost ground climbing seven points off table leaders Milan and Napoli. The Bianconeri have collected 16 points in 2022 and are only second to Napoli, considering games played in the new year.

Considering the last 23 matches, they would be table leaders with 48 points. Only Inter would have as much if they win their game with Bologna, which was rescheduled in January.

#Juve, il rimpianto dell'effetto #Ronaldo: senza le prime 4 giornate sarebbe in vetta https://t.co/1SJI5G9hJ7 pic.twitter.com/51oNKcGv6l

— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) February 28, 2022