Ronaldo urges Juventus team-mates to 'give more of ourselves' after defeat to Fiorentina

‘There is no excuse for anything’: Cristiano Ronaldo urges Juventus team-mates to ‘give more of ourselves’ after Andrea Pirlo’s side suffered shock 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina to slip 10 points behind AC Milan in the Serie A title race

  • Cristiano Ronaldo has urged his Juventus team-mates to ‘give more of ourselves’ 
  • The Old Lady slipped to a 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina to lose ground in the title race 
  • Juve are 10 points behind leaders AC Milan with their dominance threatened
  • Ronaldo said ‘there is no excuse for anything’ in a strong message on Instagram 

Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a strong message to his Juventus team-mates following their 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina, insisting ‘there is no excuse for anything’ as Andrea Pirlo’s side lost more ground in the Serie A title race.

The Old Lady suffered their first home defeat of the season as goals from Dusan Vlahovic, Martin Caceres and an own goal from Alex Sandro downed 10-man Juventus in a shock result on Tuesday.

The defeat, compounded by AC Milan’s 3-2 win over Lazio, leaves Pirlo’s side 10 points adrift of Stefano Pioli’s side as they bid to win their tenth successive Scudetto.

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged his team-mates to 'give more of ourselves' in a strong message

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged his team-mates to ‘give more of ourselves’ in a strong message

Juventus fell to a shock 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina in their first home defeat this season

Juventus fell to a shock 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina in their first home defeat this season

And Ronaldo, the league’s top scorer with 12 goals, has urged his team-mates to ‘give more of ourselves’ as the Old Lady look to close the gap on their rivals in 2021. 

‘Yesterday, with a poor performance and a result far from acceptable, we closed our scheduled games for 2020, a special year in many particular ways,’ Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.

‘Empty stadiums, COVID protocols, postponed games, long stoppages and a very tight calendar.

Tuesday's defeat sees Juventus lose ground in the Serie A title race before the winter break

Tuesday’s defeat sees Juventus lose ground in the Serie A title race before the winter break

The Old Lady's reign of dominance is under threat as they are 10 points behind AC Milan

The Old Lady’s reign of dominance is under threat as they are 10 points behind AC Milan

‘But this is no excuse for anything. We know that we have to give more of ourselves, in order to play better and to win in a more consistent way. We are Juventus! And we simply cannot accept anything less than excellence on the pitch!

‘I hope this short stoppage may help us to come back stronger and more united than ever, because the season is still far from over and in the end we believe that we will, once again, celebrate with our tiffosi.

‘Believe in us, trust our team as much as we trust you, and we will deliver!’

Ronaldo's comments follow on from Andrea Pirlo's damning review of his side's performance

Ronaldo’s comments follow on from Andrea Pirlo’s damning review of his side’s performance

Ronaldo’s remarks come after Pirlo tore into his stars following Tuesday’s defeat, as the club legend accused his side of ‘having their mind on the holidays’.

‘What happened with the red card cannot be used as an alibi,’ he said, speaking to Sky Sport Italia. ‘The result was not down to Fiorentina’s attitude but the lack of ours.

‘When this is the case you face bad situations like this. In games before Christmas it can happen then you have your mind on the holidays. We were unfocused and could not recover.’ 

source: dailymail.co.uk