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Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo equalled a Serie A record of scoring in 11 consecutive matches against SPAL — a game which is being recognised as his 1,000th career appearance.
Ronaldo put Juve 1-0 ahead against SPAL as he equalled the record set by Gabriel Batistuta with Fiorentina in the 1994-95 season and matched by Fabio Quagliarella with Sampdoria in the last campaign.
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However, it is worth noting that only Batistuta played and scored in 11 consecutive matches, with Ronaldo having missed the 2-0 victory over Brescia last weekend. His last league match without a goal was the 1-0 victory over AC Milan on Nov. 10.
Only one other active player — Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon, with 1,088 matches — has notched 1,000 career appearances. Ronaldo’s total, however, includes two games with Sporting CP’s B team in 2002 and 2003, leading to a dispute about their inclusion.
Ronaldo, 35, started his career at Sporting CP, who he appeared for 31 times for the first team, with his debut having come before the first of those two B-team games.
He joined Manchester United in 2003 and made 292 appearances before moving to Real Madrid in 2009, for whom he turned out for 438 times.
The five-time Ballon d’Or-winner has been at Juventus since 2018 and this is his 73rd match. He has 164 caps for Portugal.
Ronaldo has won the Champions League on five occasions — once with United and four times with Madrid. At international level, he captained Portugal to success at Euro 2016.