Ronaldo ´proved his worth´ in Juventus win, says Pirlo

Cristiano Ronaldo “proved his worth” in Juventus’ 2-1 win over Inter on Tuesday, according to head coach Andrea Pirlo.

Ronaldo was rested for Juve’s previous Coppa Italia win – against SPAL last month – but netted a brace in the first leg of the semi-final victory over Inter at San Siro.

The Portuguese star has scored the most braces of players in Europe’s top five leagues with eight in all competitions this season.

Pirlo praised Ronaldo, who was replaced by Alvaro Morata with 13 minutes remaining.

“He played an excellent match and proved his worth,” Pirlo said.

On substituting Ronaldo, Pirlo added: “He is playing a lot and we have many matches very close to each other.

“Saturday we will have a very important one against Roma, so I thought it would be good for him to rest and recover some energies.”