Cristiano Ronaldo Scores Penalty as Juventus Beat Fiorentina 3-0

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty to help Juventus to a 3-0 win at the home of rivals Fiorentina in Serie A on Saturday. Ronaldo netted the final goal at the Stadio Artemio Franchi after Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgio Chiellini had also scored, and the Bianconeri extended their lead at the top of the table to 11 points.

Bentancur Is Undroppable

For all Juve's midfield talent, Bentancur is the one player Massimiliano Allegri can't afford to drop. The Uruguay international opened the scoring in Florence as part of a classy display.

Bentancur ran the game, particularly during the first half, and his ability to recycle possession quickly kept Juve moving forward at pace.

His excellence on the ball was best summed up by his goal, though. Bentancur angled a shot into the bottom corner after Ronaldo had created space with a clever run, and it was precise enough to leave talented Fiorentina goalkeeper Alban Lafont rooted to the spot.

Proving he has an eye for goal will help Bentancur build on his growing status as the indispensable member of the Juve midfield:

Bentancur is important because he combines the best traits of his midfield partners, Miralem Pjanic and Blaise Matuidi. He possesses the former's flair and the tenacity and industry of the latter.

Bentancur's progress into a complete midfielder could save Juve a fortune in the transfer market:

While winning the UEFA Champions League may still prove beyond the Bianconeri this season, Allegri will still know the 21-year-old Bentancur is good enough to anchor the midfield for the next decade.

Federico Chiesa Is Not Good Enough for Juve

He had the chance to encourage Juve to step up their interest, but instead all Fiorentina forward Federico Chiesa did was prove he's not good enough to move to Turin.

The versatile winger, who is also a target for Napoli, Inter Milan and Premier League duo Liverpool and Chelsea, is firmly in Juve's sights, according to Goal's Romeo Agresti.

Chiesa had a few sighters in both halves, but his shots from distance failed to trouble Wojciech Szczesny in the Juve goal. Chiesa's struggles epitomised what has been a misfiring forward line for La Viola:

Fiorentina's budding star wasn't just let down by his shooting boots. His final ball was also wasteful on several occasions.

Pace and trickery helped Chiesa grow into the game and become more of a factor after the break. Yet he still struggled to produce any meaningful end product, often making the wrong decisions in the final third.

While his potential is obvious, Chiesa has a long way to go to prove he's ready to join one of the elite clubs in Europe. It's hard to see how he would break into a Juventus forward line featuring Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic, especially with Federico Bernardeschi and Douglas Costa also vying for starts.

Agresti reported Chiesa is valued at £62 million, and Juve would be foolhardy to spend so much on a player who still has a way to go in his development.

Bossing games against the best teams is a step Chiesa must take before he can justify such a hefty fee.

What's Next

Juve host Inter on Friday, while Fiorentina are in Sassuolo two days later.