Cristiano Ronaldo's Late Penalty Completes Juventus' Comeback Win vs. Lazio

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late penalty on Sunday to seal a 2-1 win over Lazio that moved Juventus 11 points clear at the top of Serie A.

The hosts had the better of the first half but could not break the deadlock. Daniele Rugani was forced to clear off his own line, while goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made a fine stop from Marco Parolo.

Juventus also lost centre-back Leonardo Bonucci to injury in the first half, and Giorgio Chiellini replaced the 31-year-old in the heart of the defence.

Lazio deservedly went ahead just before the hour mark when Emre Can headed Luis Alberto's corner past Szczesny.

The hosts had chances to double their advantage, but Alberto, Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic fired good opportunities off target.

Lazio were made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal as Juventus scored twice in the last 16 minutes to take all three points. Substitute Joao Cancelo made it 1-1 when he tapped into an empty net after goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha had only parried Paulo Dybala's shot.

Juventus then won a penalty with just minutes of normal time remaining when Stefan Radu pulled down Cancelo. Ronaldo made no mistake by smashing home the spot-kick.

Emre Can Not Good Enough for Juventus

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri reverted back to a 4-3-3 against Lazio with a midfield of Can, Rodrigo Bentancur and Blaise Matuidi:

Though Juventus managed to win, they toiled for long periods with the midfield unable to keep hold of the ball, leaving the attack starved of service:

Can was the worst of the bunch. The former Liverpool man was poor in possession, picked up a booking after just 24 minutes and headed past his own goalkeeper for the opening goal.

Football writer Mina Rzouki summed up his contribution:

It was not a performance that will have impressed Allegri, who was critical of the midfielder before Sunday's match, per Football Italia:

"Emre Can has a lot that needs improving, he knows that, in the timing of his moves in front of the defence. So does Bentancur. Pjanic is quicker at moving the ball around, whereas they have longer pauses, so it makes the whole team move more slowly.

"It's only an issue of training, because Emre Can gives a lot of coverage to the defence and has improved in terms of passing intuition. He is young, like Bentancur, and they have time to learn."

Yet Can was easily outclassed by the Lazio midfield with Milinkovic-Savic and Lucas Leiva dominating:

Allegri's decisions to bring on Cancelo and Federico Bernardeschi helped turn the game in Juventus's favour.

Meanwhile, Can's performance simply supported Allegri's earlier criticism and showed he simply does not deserve a place in the Juventus starting XI.

What's Next?

Both teams play in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Juventus are at Atalanta on Wednesday, while Lazio take on Inter Milan at the San Siro on Thursday.

Juventus return to Serie A action on Saturday at home to Parma. Lazio play on Monday against Frosinone.