Cristiano Ronaldo's Brilliant Play Leads Juventus to Win vs. Napoli in Serie A

Cristiano Ronaldo played a part in all three of his side's goals as Juventus beat Napoli 3-1 at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday to stay top of Serie A.

The visitors had gone ahead after just 10 minutes through Dries Mertens before Ronaldo took over. He crossed for Mario Mandzukic to equalise before the break, then watched as the rebound from his shot allowed Mandzukic to put Juve in front early in the second half.

Napoli were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark when Mario Rui was given a second yellow card after fouling Paulo Dybala.

Another Ronaldo assist helped Leonardo Bonucci make it 3-1 against the 10 men and maintain the Bianconeri's perfect start to the league campaign.

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Napoli were bright from the off and were rewarded after a fast break started just inside the Juve half. The swift move ended with a Jose Callejon pass to Mertens, who made no mistake.

Juve were behind for 16 minutes, but Ronaldo teased in an excellent cross to allow Mandzukic to head home. The contribution underlined Ronaldo's increasing proficiency as a creator since he joined the Bianconeri:

Mandzukic is showing some encouraging early form in front of goal:

There were no more goals during the opening 45 minutes despite Ronaldo's trickery and flair. His ingenuity was complementing the power of Mandzukic and movement of Dybala up top.

Three minutes after the restart, the Portugal international cut in from the left and fired a shot that Arsenal loanee David Ospina tipped onto the post, with Mandzukic on hand to turn in the rebound.

Napoli's chances of a comeback looked slim when Rui was shown a second yellow card after sliding in on Dybala. Any hint of a fightback was ended when Ronaldo set up Bonucci to make the points safe:

"

Cristiano Ronaldo (7) has now been directly involved in more goals in Serie A this season than any other player:

⚽️ 3 goals
️ 4 assists

Making the league his own. pic.twitter.com/UGuK3ADymL

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 29, 2018"

Ronaldo also thought he'd scored late on, only for his finish to be ruled out by the linesman's flag in stoppage time.

Juve won't care their main man didn't score, though. Ronaldo's eye for a pass doesn't always define his game, but he was the creative catalyst for the Bianconeri in a win over last season's second-placed team.