With Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, taking a free kick for Juventus was almost an impossible mission.
Miralem Pjanic said that when CR7 made up his mind about something, there was no going back. The ball was his, period. So, in the Napoli-Juventus match in March 2019, they had to resort to a trick.
Goalkeeper Alex Meret was sent off for bringing down Ronaldo just outside the box. With the free kick looming, the Portuguese stayed on the ground, holding his knee.
And that’s when Massimiliano Allegri stepped in: he sent the medical staff and physios onto the pitch, the ball was left unattended, and Pjanic grabbed it. A free-kick goal to open the scoring in a 2-1 win for Juve.
“It was the only way to get the ball, thanks, Max!”, Pjanic joked.