Ronaldo sets record with brace in Juventus win over Parma

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace on Sunday as Juventus beat Parma 2-1 to move four points clear of Inter Milan at the top of Serie A.

The Portugal international's deflected strike wrongfooted goalkeeper Luigi Sepe and handed the hosts the lead two minutes before half-time.

Parma hit back after the break when substitute Andreas Cornelius sent a glancing header past Wojciech Szczesny to make it 1-1 after 55 minutes.

Yet the hosts responded impressively and restored their lead three minutes later. Paulo Dybala sent Ronaldo through on goal to score his 16th Serie A goal of the season.

Juve boss Maurizio Sarri left Gonzalo Higuain on the bench, starting Dybala, Ronaldo and Aaron Ramsey in attack, while Parma brought in Matteo Scozzarella for Alberto Grassi.

Juventus will hope Ronaldo remains on what has been his best form this season as they host AS Roma in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal on Wednesday. For Parma, the campaign that is to crack the top six resumes on Sunday against Udinese.