Turin (Italy) (AFP)

His competition, the Champions League, at home, in Portugal. How could Cristiano Ronaldo miss this? But to see Lisbon and its "Final 8", the five-time Ballon d'Or will have to take Juventus on its back Friday (9:00 p.m.) to help it clear the Lyon obstacle.

Ronaldo can't do it all, but he's already done more. Last season thus, already in the round of 16, it was not a sad 1-0 defeat like the one recorded on the first leg in Lyon that Juventus had to erase, but a 2-0 slap received in Madrid from the hands of the 'Atlético.

The Portuguese took care of everything. A monstrous match, a hat-trick and Juventus were in the quarters.

Friday at the Stadium, the Turin club will still need its star. Because the C1, which he has won five times, is his home. He scored 129 goals there, all-time high, and one or two more would do Juventus good.

Because the Italian club is not doing very well and has few certainties after an endless and difficult season to decipher, with its three and a half month hiatus due to the new coronavirus.

- Over-motivated Ronaldo -

The defense does not offer any guarantees, the midfielder is suffering, apart from Rabiot, found, and even in attack the signals are not brilliant, between the injuries of Douglas Costa and especially Dybala, and the very uncertain form of Higuain.

But there is Ronaldo, over-motivated and rested after being exempted from the 38th and final day against AS Roma (3-1 defeat).

At 35, the former Real Madrid star has lost some of its luster. Often this season, we have seen the N.7 get annoyed, often against his teammates, against his coach sometimes, but also against himself and his own shortcomings.

The balance sheet, however, is stratospheric. With 31 league goals, Ronaldo equaled and almost broke the historic record for goals in one season at Juventus, who have held for ... 86 years and Felice Borel (31 also in Serie A in 1933/1934).

He also reached the 50-goal mark after just 61 Serie A matches, another record, as Andrei Shevchenko needed 68.

- 'You're crazy' -

After the coronation match in the league, won 2-0 against Sampdoria, the high-end consultants of the Italian channel Sky Sport (Del Piero, Costacurta, Bergomi ...) also took stock and awarded notes annuals to bianconeri.

Dybala scored 9s and 8.5s. Ronaldo was a cut below, with an 8 and even a 7.5. "7.5! But you're crazy! He scored 200,000 goals", choked Alessandro Costacurta.

Maurizio Sarri, he bent to the specifics of the game with Ronaldo, a priori quite far from his collective ideal.

"He came in with an immense desire to score. This ability to concentrate on a goal is positive. Maybe that sometimes pushes him to make bad choices, but all in all, it's positive", had- he thus ensured after a 2-0 defeat in Cagliari, where the Portuguese had struck through and through.

"Cristiano is an instinctive player and it's always up to other attackers to adapt to his movements. It's inevitable that others are looking for him all the time, it's like psychological conditioning. He's the most player. strong, the one who unblocks situations ", also judged Sarri.

Friday against Lyon, there is precisely a situation to unblock and it is complicated. A mission for Ronaldo.

© 2020 AFP