Ronaldo’s brace not enough to push Juventus through to the last eight of the Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo inspired comeback for Juventus was not to be as Lyon managed to hang on and book a Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.

The French side who was leading 1-0 from February’s first leg were handed a soft early penalty and Memphis Depay converted calmly.

The goal left Juventus requiring to score three times to progress and Ronaldo got one back from the penalty spot.

The Juventus top scorer then thundered in his second of the night and his 130th Champions League goal to make it 2-1 for Juventus but Lyon held on to qualify.

Lyon have now booked a quarter-final clash with Manchester City on 15 August, as Juventus’ 24-year wait for Champions League glory continued.

Watch the match highlights below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP-Ql8XWt0Y

It’s no news that the 5-time Balon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, was brought on board significantly to help Juventus get their hands on a trophy that has haunted the Bianconeri since they last won it in 1996. Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times in his career.

The Portuguese was at the top of his game despite getting little to no service during the game. He got Juventus level on the night from the spot before cancelling Lyon’s advantage in the tie with another vintage Champions League strike – a belter from his left foot outside the area.

Over 90 minutes Ronaldo was the standout performer and did his part, but the same could not be said of his team-mates as the best player on the pitch exited the competition in the round of 16 for the first time in 10 years.

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Lyon are the first French side to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League since Monaco in 2016/17, whilst this is the first time they have reached this stage of the competition since 2009/10.
• Juventus have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2015/16 under Massimiliano Allegri.
• Despite progressing on away goals, Lyon are now winless in their last 11 away knockout matches in the Champions League (D2 L9).
• Juventus have played more Champions League home games against French sides without defeat (7) than against teams from any other nation.
• Lyon’s Memphis Depay has become just the second Dutch player to score in six successive Champions League appearances after Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice).
• Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo is just the third player to score a Champions League goal against a specific opponent with three different clubs, after Jorg Butt against Juventus and Ruud van Nistelrooy against Bayern Munich.
• Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 20 goals in his last 13 home Champions League knockout matches. In total, he has scored 67 goals in the knockout stages of the competition, 21 more than any other player (Messi, 46).