Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldogestures during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Lazio on August 25, 2018 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
Juventus forward Douglas Costa has already paid his fine to the Italian champions for spitting, coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed on Saturday.
Costa was banned for four Serie A matches, against Frosinone, Bologna, Napoli and Udinese, after aiming an elbow and a headbutt before spitting in the face of Sassuolo winger Federico Di Francesco in last weekend’s league game in Turin.
The 28-year-old then picked up a sprained ankle and a right thigh injury in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win in Valencia and will miss Brazil’s friendlies next month against Saudi Arabia and Argentina.
“He paid his fine, was banned and he immediately realised his mistake,” said Allegri without revealing how much Costa had paid.
“Now he is also injured. That is behind us now, so no more talking about Sassuolo.”
Champions Juventus travel to promoted Frosinone on Sunday, just days after star striker Cristiano Ronaldo was controversially given a red card in the Champions League.
“Tomorrow, Ronaldo will give an excellent performance as he did in the first half hour in the Champions League,” warned Allegri.
The Portuguese striker will be hoping to add to his first two goals scored last weekend, against the club who have the worst defence in the league with ten goals conceded in four games.
“The expectations on him are very high, but he does not have to prove anything,” continued the Juventus coach.
“He needs only to continue to play, have fun and score, he is very demanding of himself.
“He is the best player in the world along with (Lionel) Messi and he brings a lot of added value to the squad.”
Juventus are the only unbeaten side in Serie A having won all four of their matches and have a two-point lead on Sassuolo, who are second after beating Empoli 3-1 on Friday.
Frosinone are second from the bottom of the league, with just one point, and are still waiting for their first goal.
“We know very well what we’re up against and now they have Ronaldo who can do everything,” said Frosinone coach Moreno Longo.
AFP
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