Rome (AFP)

Driven by Cristiano Ronaldo's first hat-trick in Serie A, Juventus Turin crushed Cagliari (4-0) Monday during the 18th day, which was also that of the comeback of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, powerless to shake AC Milan, held in check by Sampdoria Genoa (0-0).

It was Ibra's big day, but Ronaldo is not one to be stolen from the limelight. So the Portuguese confirmed his current great form and drew the spotlight on him with a superb performance against Cagliari.

After a first period dominated by the Turinese but played without great rhythm, the Portuguese lit the wick by stealing a ball from Klavan to score the first goal of Juve (49th).

He added a second one from the penalty spot (67th) and completed his first treble in Serie A by scoring the fourth and last goal of the bianconeri on a pass from Douglas Costa (82nd). Meanwhile, Higuain had scored the goal of 3-0 (81st).

"It's very good and I'm very happy with this first hat-trick. But the important thing is the team, which played very well. We had to win to get back in front and put pressure on Inter", told the fivefold Ballon d'Or on Sky after the game.

With this victory, the Turinese indeed take three lengths ahead of Inter Milan, which will have at 8:45 pm a difficult trip to Naples (8th) at the end of this 18th day.

Cagliari on the other hand is in the process of returning to the ranks after a superb start to the season. The Sardis remain 6th but have only taken one point in the last four games.

While Ronaldo and Juventus looked up, Ibrahimovic noted that the AC Milan he just joined is definitely not the one he left in 2012.

- superb Atalanta -

Replacing the kick-off, the 38-year-old Swede came into play in the 55th minute against Sampdoria Genoa. The score was then 0-0 and he did not move despite Ibra's efforts for 40 minutes.

The former Parisian touched a few balls, won several aerial duels and above all endeavored to applaud even the gestures most missed by his teammates, and there were some.

Even before his entry, each gesture of the Swede was scrutinized by the 58,000 spectators present in Milan, who had already applauded him at length for the presentation of the teams and when he got up to start his warm-up in the 40th minute.

"A new challenge to live together, welcome back Ibra", had written the supporters on a banner deployed before the start of the meeting.

But at the end of the day, everyone found that the Milanese construction site was immense and that Ibra, which had not played since the end of October and its last match with the Los Angeles Galaxy, could not do everything alone.

Milan remains 12th, 13 points from 4th place, the last qualifier for the Champions League. And on Monday, Sampdoria (16th) was the closest to victory.

Atalanta Bergamo meanwhile continues its superb season. On Monday, she demolished Parma with five goals (5-0), each one more beautiful than the other. Ilicic's double and hitting "Papu" Gomez on the opening of the score are worth the detour. Atalanta remains 5th and returns to a point of AS Rome, beaten Sunday by the Torino.

Results of the 18th day:

Sunday:

Brescia - Lazio Rome 1 - 2

SPAL - Hellas Verona 0 - 2

Genoa - Sassuolo 2 - 1

AS Rome - Torino 0 - 2

On Monday:

Bologna - Fiorentina 1 - 1

AC Milan - Sampdoria Genoa 0 - 0

Juventus Turin - Cagliari 4 - 0

Atalanta Bergamo - Parma 5 - 0

(5:00 p.m. GMT) Lecce - Udinese

(6.45 p.m. GMT) Naples - Inter Milan

© 2020 AFP