Turin (Italy) (AFP)

The superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, despite a double, was eliminated by Lyon (2-1, first leg: 0-1), Friday, from the round of 16 of the Champions League: this second failure with Juventus deprives him of the "Final 8 "at his home in Lisbon.

His favorite competition, in his country. The absence of CR7 in the final eight-way tournament of the C1 in Portugal (12-23 August) seemed inconceivable and yet, irreducible Lyonnais prevented the advance of this machine to win.

His penalty (43rd) and his beautiful strike from the left from 25 meters (60th) recalled his incredible hat-trick last season against Atlético de Madrid at the same stage of the competition (3-0, first leg: 0-2), but this time it was not enough.

In a system too dependent on his exploits, the Portuguese appeared too lonely to take the Old Lady to quarters. He left the lawn with his head down, in a closed room whose silence resembled those of stadiums sounded by the scale of the defeat.

Head for the holidays. The return to Lisbon, where he took his first steps as a professional, at Sporting, will not be on the pitch. On Saturday August 15, Lyon will face Manchester City at the José-Alvalade stadium, the venue for his debut.

More than a year after an unexpected loss to Ajax Amsterdam in the quarterfinals, the striker is experiencing a second disillusion with Juventus, which he joined in 2018.

At 35, the opportunities will become scarce for him to bring back at the foot of the Alps a trophy hoped for since 1996.

This season, despite a new Italian league title, the former Real Madrid star has lost some of its luster. Often, the N.7 was annoyed, often against his teammates, but also against himself and his own shortcomings.

- Dybala comes in and gets injured -

The balance sheet, however, is stratospheric. With 31 goals in the Championship, CR7 continues to align figures which place it among the best of the Continent.

But against Lyon, the opponent he played the most in the Champions League (12 matches), the Portuguese did not display a performance that goes back in time.

He was not decisive as in 2008, when he scored with Manchester United the goal of eliminating OL, in the 8th (1-0).

Like his team, CR7 was too imprecise. Apart from his two goals, lightning in the dark night of the Turin game, he chained the blunders, not helped by uninspired teammates.

He missed well placed heads (20th, 76th) and especially free kicks that would have deserved a better fate (40th, 74th, 90th + 2). His last attempt, for the qualification, ended in the wall.

The Portuguese looked too cramped in his superhero costume, without his Argentinian "Robin" Paulo Dybala, replacing due to a thigh injury. This one returned to the 70th but to play less than a quarter of an hour, due to a relapse.

The top scorer in the history of the competition (130 goals) came up against the limits of his team. The challenge promises to be enormous to advance Juventus to the supreme title, perhaps next year. But it is a challenge in its measure.

© 2020 AFP