Champions League: Did Ronaldo get robbed of a goal in Juventus' win? You tell us (video)
Juventus beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 in the Champions League to secure advancement with two games left in the group stage.
The Italian giants were always favored to go through along with Atletico Madrid, so that was never really in doubt.
What was in doubt Wednesday was the opening goal for Juve. In the third minute, Cristiano Ronaldo ripped a free kick on target, a knuckler that Lokomotiv keeper Guilherme couldn’t handle in the wet conditions (via Bleacher Report):
Did Aaron Ramsey just steal a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo? 👀 pic.twitter.com/kU7VQ9NIPn
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) November 6, 2019
Aaron Ramsey pounced on the trickling ball to make absolutely sure, and he was officially credited with the goal. So there are really two questions here.
One, by the letter of the law, was it correct to deem Ramsey the scorer? And two, was it cheap for him to swipe a goal from his teammate that was clearly going in?
On the first question, Ramsey was almost certainly correctly awarded the goal. It doesn’t count unless the ball entirely clears the line (ask Liverpool fans about that), and Ramsey got to it before it did so:
The second question is a matter of personal preference, fandom, you name it. Goals are not small things for soccer players, as they factor into everything from mood to contractual stipulations. As such, Ronaldo and his supporters might be justified if they feel aggrieved.
But whatever. They’re also moving on to the knockout stage thanks to Douglas Costa’s winner in stoppage time:
Douglas Costa is a BEAST pic.twitter.com/mXCkZu9gkF
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) November 6, 2019
The debate can rage on the next three weeks before Juve hosts Atleti on Nov. 26.
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