If you wanted somebody pretty Juventus footballing on your Sunday, you probably should have tuned into the Juve women’s game instead. That’s because Juventus’ trip to Frosinone was anything but pretty and anything but the kind of impressive performance that we saw a few days earlier when they were down a man against Valencia. Luckily, in the 81st minute, the bounces finally turned in Juve’s direction. A deflection here, a deflection there, and Cristiano Ronaldo was celebrating his third Serie A goal in the last two games, as his go-ahead goal late in Juve’s 2-0 win over Frosinone made sure that the seven-time Italian champions were going to drop points against opposition that hasn’t scored a goal yet through the season’s first five games. The score is flattering, one that was aided by Federico Bernardeschi’s stoppage time goal right before the final whistle, but this game was anything but that. This wasn’t pretty, wasn’t what some were expecting with the first-place team in Serie A facing one of the three newly-promoted sides. In case you’re wondering, Juventus Women opened their league campaign with a 5-0 rout of Fimauto Valpolicella. So, yeah. That game was a whole lot better than this one. By a mile. Frosinone executed the Juventus-vs.-relegation battler game plan to near perfection on Sunday. Ronaldo’s goal came on Juventus’ 29th shot of the night. And it’s not like a lot of them were dangerous shots for Frosinone goalkeeper Marco Sportiello to save, either. Juventus were struggling to break down the yellow brick wall that was in front of them, settling for long shot after long shot after long shot. It wasn’t until Bernardeschi came on for Rodrigo Bentancur early in the second half that they started — key, STARTED — to look somewhat dangerous going forward. And even then, it’s not like Sportiello was getting peppered and forced into diving save after diving save. This was not really a grinder of a game. It was more of a case where Juve didn’t play well at all, got a late goal or two and then escaped their trip to Frosinone with all three points. No style points here. Not something that we’re going to look back on and talk about as one of the best matches Juventus played all season. But like I said last weekend, it’s nice to be on the good side of a Ronaldo game-winning goal. It just took 80 minutes and a couple of favorable bounces to go Juve’s way to finally happen against a dogged Frosinone side that defended its absolute ass off all game long. RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS<doc-sep>Juventus made hard work of Frosinone on Sunday night, as late strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi provided the league leaders with a 2-0 win at the Stadio Benito Stirpe. With the win, Juventus have maintained their unbeaten start to the season - winning all five of their opening games. Frosinone have yet to score in the league this season, and you can see why. They had just 27 percent possession and registered just three shots on goal with zero being on target. They have already been beaten 4-0 and 5-0 this season, but avoided a heavy loss this time, as they defended resolutely and frustrated ​Juventus for 80 minutes before ​Ronaldo's strike. Juventus looked disjointed in the first half, struggling to create any real opportunities. Despite the quality on show, they created the better of their chances through set pieces where they were able to react first to the second ball. A breakthrough failed to come, though just when Frosinone just thought they might have been able to earn a point, Miralem Pjanic waltzed in to the penalty area, mishit a shot in to Goldaniga's legs, before the ball finally fell kindly to Ronaldo - who was able to scuff an effort in to the bottom corner. You made him angry now deal with the consequences. Another goal for Cristiano today who becomes Juventus’ top scorer so far this season in Serie A. pic.twitter.com/elG4NoUFdz — Cristiano Ronaldo ⚪⚫ (@Cr7Fran4ever) September 23, 2018 Frosinone, understandably, threw caution to wind and committed players forward. This gave Juventus the space late on to counter attack, culminating in Bernardeschi's late strike in injury time. Juventus Key Talking Point Just when you thought Juventus would be frustrated by a newly promoted team, Ronaldo was able to rise to the occasion. He appeared to snatch at a few chances tonight but always looked the most likely to score. Juventus found it incredibly tough to break Frosinone down and for 80 minutes were restricted to speculative efforts. Just as Juve looked like they were out of ideas, Ronaldo found himself in the right place at the right time. Ronaldo has built a career on scoring important goals, and this is exactly why Juventus spent the money on him they did. Player Ratings Starting XI: Szczesny (7), Cuadrado (6), Rugani (7), Chiellini (7), Sandro (6), Can (7), Pjanic (7), Bentacur (6), Dybala (6), Ronaldo (8), Mandzukic (5) Subs: Bernardeschi (8), Cancelo (7), Matuidi (6) Star Man Bernardeschi was able to make an impact from the bench and looked the brightest player on the pitch. He replaced Bentacur in the midfield early in the second half, and managed to provide real impetus at a time when the majority of Juventus players began to labour. Frosinone were compact and sat deep, however Bernardeschi was able to inject pace and by managing to beat his man, he forced Frosinone to panic. Bernardeschi was rewarded for his hard work and quality with an injury time goal which sealed the win. Worst Player Mario Mandzukic struggled throughout the game to really impact the play. Juventus lacked some creativity with a lot of attacks concluding in a hopeful ball being floated in to the box. You would have expected Mandzukic to have some joy in this area, being Juventus' most important player when trying to breakdown this type of team, but he really struggled. The Croatian striker has had far better games, and you would have been forgiven if you had forgotten he even played. Or they should counter really quickly from behind the midline (Bernardesci goal) Bottom line: Juventus can learn from this, and make it easier for themselves in the next games; so it’s only going to get better and better! Onwards and Upwards, Forza Juve ⚫️⚪️ — Shadi Eid (@Shadi_Eid) September 23, 2018 Looking Ahead Juventus take on Napoli at home on Saturday, providing them with a true test against Carlo Ancelotti's men. It is doubtful that Napoli will defend as deep at Frosinone did this time out, but a similar performance will see Juventus struggling.<doc-sep>It wasn’t supposed to be like this. To say that Juve’s first half against Frosinone was disappointing would be an enormous understatement. Juventus was statically dominant for the 1st 45 minutes, but failed to create a real chance at goal for themselves. The closest Juve got was when Mario Mandzukic headed a cross down to Cristiano Ronaldo in the box. Ronaldo got a shot on target, but Frosinone keeper Matteo Sportiello was able to slow it down enough for it to be cleared off of the goal line. The attack didn’t look any better for most of the second half. Juventus continued to dominate possession with absolutely nothing to show for it. That was until they got the miracle we all expected then to need against Frosinone. In the 81st minute a shot was deflected to Paulo Dybala who then had his own shot deflected. That shot ricocheted directly into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo who was able to finally find the back of the net for Juve. They added another fortunate goal in stoppage time as Juve had a breakaway that Ronaldo seemingly threw away, but Frosinone was unable to clear his poor pass. Juve retained possession and eventually Federico Bernardeschi was able to secure Juve’s win with a goal. GK: Wojciech Szczesny 6/10 There really isn’t much to say here. Szczesny couldn’t have been asked to do much less in this matchup. He didn’t face a single shot in target and only needed to attempt 13 passes. I thought he should’ve been rested in this one, but he pretty much got a rest throughout the match.<doc-sep>Cristiano Ronaldo's week wasn't going all that well after his somewhat harsh red card against Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday. He was visibly upset and crying, and he couldn't believe what had happened. He ended his week with a perfect bounce-back, scoring the game-winning goal for Juventus against Frosinone on Sunday. In a 2-0 win, Ronaldo scored the winner in the 81st minute with an attentive finish before Federico Bernadeschi sealed it in the 94th minute: Was he offside? Upon the replay, it looks like he was just on: Boy, that has to feel good for CR7. It is his third goal in the Serie A and the best way he could have responded to a difficult week. That goal helped the team stay perfect in the Serie A with a 6-0-0 record as Ronaldo continues to adjust to playing in Italy.<doc-sep>
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/Getty Images Late strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi handed Juventus a 2-0 win over Frosinone at the Stadio Benito Stirpe on Sunday. The former broke the deadlock in the 81st minute before the latter netted deep into injury-time to seal a hard-fought victory for the Bianconeri against the relegation candidates, who had defended well for much of the contest. Ronaldo came close to getting on the scoresheet just seven minutes in, but he did not hit Mario Mandzukic's knockdown, and he saw his shot cleared off the line by Marco Capuano after Marco Sportiello got a hand to it. The goalkeeper denied him shortly after, too, beating away a Ronaldo strike with confidence. Midway through the first half, the 33-year-old was fouled to give Juventus a promising free-kick opportunity. Ronaldo took the set piece himself and cannoned it into the defensive wall. The decision to let Ronaldo take the kick was not a popular one: Video Play Button Videos you might like In the second half, it looked as though it might be a frustrating night for Ronaldo in front of goal. The Portugal international wasted a gilt-edged chance, blasting over from close range, and he also saw a backheeled effort saved by Sportiello. However, he made no mistake when the ball fell kindly for him in space late on: Bernardeschi added a second in the 93rd minute when he finished off a counter-attack. Football writer Adam Digby wasn't overly impressed with the Bianconeri despite them grinding out the win, though: Indeed, while Ronaldo is a new arrival and is accustomed to being the focal point of the team, Juve would be better served playing to their strengths, even if that means Ronaldo must accept he won't always be the main man. Nevertheless, he'll be pleased to have got on the scoresheet once again, particularly after his red card in his nightmare UEFA Champions League debut for the club in his previous outing. What's Next Juventus host Bologna on Wednesday, while Frosinone travel to Roma the same day.