Cristiano Ronaldo Praises VAR After Juventus' Win over Sampdoria

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo heaped praise on the video assistant referee after the club's 2-1 win over Sampdoria on Saturday, a match in which he scored twice and VAR played a key role.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), he also looked back on the first half of the season and highlighted the need for hard work:

"The team is doing very well, we had an excellent first half to the season, but must keep working to ensure we keep this kind of form in the second half of the season.

"I like VAR, because these are difficult decisions for a referee and we should welcome anything that makes his job easier."

Ronaldo opened the scoring early after good work from Paulo Dybala, but the contest turned into the VAR show after that. The system was used twice to award questionable penalties, one for each team, and took away what initially looked like a late equaliser from Riccardo Saponara.

Here are the match highlights:

Sampdoria's official Twitter account was far from pleased with the outcome of the match and the decision-making on display:

While the late offside call dominated the headlines, the most controversial decision was for the second penalty, where an initial call for a handball should have been overturned by VAR. Saponara's offside call was harsh, but correct.

The result was another great one for Juventus, who remain unbeaten in Serie A and are headed toward an eighth straight title at record pace:

Ronaldo's first season in Turin has been a successful one so far, and his form this past week has been spectacular:

The Bianconeri will now enjoy a short winter break, with their next outing taking place on January 12. Juventus will visit Bologna before facing AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.