AP, Turin :
No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem for Juventus.
Paulo Dybala filled in for the star by scoring his first Champions League hat trick to give the Italian team a 3-0 victory over Young Boys on Tuesday.
With Ronaldo watching from the stands after getting his first red card in the competition in the previous round, Dybala rediscovered the scoring form that saw the Argentina international score 22 Serie A goals last season. “I wanted a match like this,” Dybala said, with a huge smile on his face and clutching the match ball. “But I think the whole team approached the match with the right attitude.”
It was Juventus’ ninth win in nine matches this season as the Italian club remained perfect in all competitions. It also saw Juventus take control of Group H with a two-point lead over Manchester United, which drew 0-0 against Valencia.
That still wasn’t enough to satisfy coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“We should have scored more tonight,” he said. “On one hand for our goal difference, on the other because matches are coming up in which we will only have one or two chances, and we will have to be more clinical than we have been.”
Juventus visits Manchester United in the next round when Ronaldo will be available for his return to Old Trafford.
It took Dybala less than five minutes to give Juventus the lead with a delightful chipped volley after a long ball over the top from Leonardo Bonucci. Juventus almost doubled its lead 10 minutes later as Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos could only parry Federico Bernardeschi’s effort but it was cleared for a corner.
However, Von Ballmoos was punished for a similar mistake in the 33rd when he pushed away Blaise Matuidi’s fierce shot and Dybala was on hand to tuck the rebound into the bottom left corner.
