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Cristiano Ronaldo blamed for Juventus' Coppa Italia defeat

For the first time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo has lost back-to-back cup finals, and the Juventus superstar has now been blamed for his side's Coppa Italia defeat to Napoli on Wednesday night.

The Bianconeri suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Napoli in the cup final, with the tie being decided before Ronaldo, who was set to take Juve's fifth penalty, even had the chance to score from the spot. 

Scroll through the gallery above for some images of Napoli's Coppa Italia celebrations on Wednesday

The 35-year-old has since received criticism for his performance in the match, with one of Italy's largest football publications going so far as to label the five-time Ballon d'Or winner as the worst performer on the night.

READ: Napoli pip Juve to Coppa Italia title

"He [Ronaldo] claims the privileges of the central striker, including the inalienable right to shoot every time he has the ball, but he does not realise that he is no longer at Real Madrid and that [Paulo] Dybala is not [Karim] Benzema..." senior La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Sebastiano Vernazza reported after the match.

"...[And] on penalties, did he have to take the last one [so that he could be the one] to celebrate?"

READ: Ronaldo linked with shock PL return

Football statistics company Opta Sports has also revealed that the result saw Ronaldo lose back-to-back finals for the first time in his career, with Juve also suffering defeat at the hands of Lazio in the Italian Super Cup in December. 

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