By Alex Butler
Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a Juventus win over Udinese to pass soccer legend Pele for No. 2 on the all-time official goals list.
The Juventus striker tied Pele’s career total in the 31st minute of the 4-1 victory Sunday in Turin, Italy. He passed Pele with another goal in the 70th minute.
Ronaldo’s career total is now at 758 for club and country. Pele scored 757 goals when he played for Santos, Cosmos, and Brazil’s national team from 1956 through 1971.
Ronaldo has scored 656 goals in his club career and has another 102 scores for Portugal. Josef Bican ranks No. 1 with 759 official scores. Bican played in Austria and the Czech Republic from 1931 to 1955.
Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey assisted Ronaldo’s first score on Sunday. Ramsey stole the ball from Udinese before he poked a pass up the left flank to spark the sequence.
Ronaldo then dribbled into the box before he ripped a shot into the far-post netting. The score stood as the lone tally of the first half before Ronaldo helped Juventus double its advantage in the Italian Serie A league match.
The Juventus striker received a pass near midfield at the start of that play. He then turned and sent a pass behind the defense for right wing Federico Chiesa.
Chiesa caught up to the feed before he used his right foot to beat Udinese keeper Juan Musso in the 49th minute.
Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Betancur set up Ronaldo’s second score about 21 minutes later. Betancur sprinted across midfield and stole the ball from Udinese before he spotted Ronaldo making a run to his left. He then sent a through ball toward the Udinese box.
Ronaldo took one touch before he used his right foot for a shot just inside the right post for a 3-0 lead.
Udinese winger Marvin Zeegelaar cut into the Juventus advantage with a score in the 90th minute. Juventus striker Paulo Dybala then scored the final goal in the third minute of stoppage time.
Juventus battles AC Milan in another Serie A game at 2:45 p.m. EST Wednesday in Milan, Italy.
