Ronaldo praises VAR after Juventus´ dramatic win over Sampdoria

Cristiano Ronaldo praised the use of VAR in Serie A after Juventus beat Sampdoria 2-1 in dramatic circumstances on Saturday.

Ronaldo scored twice to take his tally to 14 league goals in 2018-19 and move the champions onto 53 points at the halfway stage of the season – a new record in Italy’s top flight.

The 33-year-old opened the scoring after just two minutes, but Fabio Quagliarella equalised after the referee awarded a penalty for handball against Emre Can following a VAR review.

The video technology was called on again when Alex Ferrari was penalised for handling in the box, allowing Ronaldo to restore Juve’s lead, and Riccardo Saponara was denied a stunning injury-time leveller when he was deemed offside in the build-up after a review.

The stoppages led to eight minutes of time being added on at the end of the game at the Allianz Stadium, but Ronaldo insists anything that makes life easier for referees should be supported.

“I’m in favour of VAR because there are fewer mistakes,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “We have to let the referees work in peace. Certain situations are not simple, even for them.”

Juve’s win puts them 12 points ahead of Napoli, who face Bologna later on Saturday, giving them a commanding position heading into the mid-season break.

“The team is doing well,” Ronaldo said. “We’ve had a good first half of the season and we have to keep working so as to confirm our position in the second half.”

 points sees the Bianconeri set the record for most points in the first half of a @SerieA season! #JuveSamp #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/sqMdO8JdZQ

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) December 29, 2018