Andrea Pirlo does not believe Cristiano Ronaldo’s intervention on Alessio Cragno warranted a red card and explains Juventus tactics against Cagliari.

The Bianconeri needed a response after the Champions League exit to 10-man Porto and they got it from Ronaldo with a hat-trick in the opening 32 minutes.

Wojciech Szczesny was unable to keep a clean sheet, beaten by Giovanni Simeone in the second half for a 3-1 final result.

Andrea Pirlo does not believe Cristiano Ronaldo’s intervention on Alessio Cragno warranted a red card and explains Juventus tactics against Cagliari.

The Bianconeri needed a response after the Champions League exit to 10-man Porto and they got it from Ronaldo with a hat-trick in the opening 32 minutes.

Wojciech Szczesny was unable to keep a clean sheet, beaten by Giovanni Simeone in the second half for a 3-1 final result.

“It was the right approach, which we needed after failing to qualify the other day, and we started on the right foot,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia.

The coach was asked about the tactics used, because people cannot seem to decide if Juve are playing with a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2.

“Danilo is an intelligent player who can have his say in any role. We are trying him here at the moment because we know he can make an impact there.

“We had three in defence in possession, with Juan Cuadrado pushing up and Dejan Kulusevski coming more inside. We defend with four, but then play out from the back with three.

“The idea was to leave gaps for Cuadrado to push up, bringing Kulusevski more central. Kulusevski can be more in midfield in future, we had to use him as a second striker to make up for absences.

“Naturally, once we have two genuine strikers upfront, our game works better.”

Before the Ronaldo hat-trick, CR7 was booked for dangerous play when going in very high and catching Cragno on the chin. Should that have been a red card?

“I think it was a classic situation during play, both of them were looking at the ball and didn’t realise how close they were,” shrugged Pirlo.

The hat-trick was certainly a response to the criticism and anger from their Champions League exit to Porto.

“He was angry the same way everyone was after the missed qualification, but he did his talking on the pitch with three goals and that’s all that matters.

“All we can do is focus on our own results, getting as many points as possible, winning as many games as possible and then at the end seeing where we are.”

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