Europe

Cristiano Ronaldo Saving Energy for Champions League

Ronaldo was rested by Juventus for Saturday’s match against Roma to protect him ahead of the Champions League campaign.

Maurizio Sarri’s team were presented the Serie A trophy at the Allianz Stadium, but Ronaldo was not be required to play.

Juventus named their squad ahead of the final game in their latest Serie A title-winning campaign, with Ronaldo notably absent from the 24-player group.

They have a hard European game against Lyon coming up on Friday, with Juventus needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals.

Ronaldo has been ever-present for Juventus in Serie A since the return of Italian football from its coronavirus-enforced break in June, with the 35-year-old taking his goal tally to 31 in the league to drive Juventus towards their ninth successive title.