Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in Juventus win

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Cristiano Ronaldo netted two scores in Juventus' 2-1 Serie A win against Sampdoria at Allianz Stadium.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's first score came just minutes into the match on Saturday in Turin, Italy. Ronaldo received a long feed from Paulo Dybala at the start of the scoring sequence. He trapped the ball down inside the box before pushing it right.

Ronaldo then blasted a shot toward the far-post, beating Sampdoria keeper Emil Audero for first blood. The road squad hit the equalizer in the 33rd minute, courtesy of a penalty kick from Fabio Quagliarella.

Juventus and Sampdoria were locked at 1-1 at the halftime whistle. Then Ronaldo took control. The blazing-fast striker ripped a shot off of the crossbar in the second half.

He netted the go-ahead score in the 65th minute, beating Audero on a penalty kick.

"We need about 37 points to win the Scudetto," Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri told Juventus.com. "We played well against Samp but got caught on the counter too many times late on."

Juventus battles Bologna in Coppa Italia play at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna, Italy.

"Ronaldo is the best player in the world," Allegri said. "Audero did brilliately to push his shot onto the bar, as did [Omar] Colley to save his header."