Cristiano Ronaldo appeared miffed that he couldn't complete his hat-trick after Andrea Pirlo withdrew him in the second half of Juventus' clash with Inter Milan.
Juventus travelled to the San Siro on Tuesday for the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final clash.
And the Old Lady were placed on the back foot in the opening 10 minutes as Lautaro Martinez fired Antonio Conte's men into the lead.
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However, Ronaldo pulled back an equaliser in the first half from the spot-kick.
The 35-year-old Portuguese superstar would complete his brace before half-time as he dispossessed Alessandro Bastoni and Samir Handanovic was caught out after charging out of his box.
Ronaldo's hopes of securing a hat-trick against Inter were dashed as Pirlo subbed him off in the 77th minute for Alvaro Morata.
ESPN posted footage on Twitter of a visibly frustrated Ronaldo shaking his head as he came off and saying something to Pirlo on the touchline.
Pirlo later defended his decision to sub off the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, saying that there is "no contract clause that says he can't be subbed off."
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The 41-year-old Juventus boss told Rai Sport: "It's normal that when you go out in a match like this you want to play to help the team.
"There is no contract clause that says he can't be subbed off. He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.
"He proved it with his performances after some criticism. He couldn't have done better than that.
"I said [to him] that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday. He has played many consecutive games, every now and then a little rest is good for him."
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Juventus will host Inter at the Allianz Stadium for the second leg of the semi-final clash on 9th February.
Featured Image Credit: ESPN/TwitterTopics: Football News, Football, Serie A, Juve, San Siro, old lady, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Inter Milan
