Allegri backs Cristiano after latest goal

The forward got his fourth goal of the season as Juventus beat Udinese, prompting Massimiliano Allegri to applaud his efforts

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri praised Cristiano Ronaldo for "working well" and scoring a "wonderful goal" in Saturday's 2-0 win over Udinese.

The Serie A champions won their 10th game in a row in all competitions thanks to first-half strikes from Rodrigo Bentancur and Ronaldo at the Dacia Arena.

It was the Portugal international's first appearance since he "firmly denied" an allegation of rape dating back to 2009 via a statement issued on Wednesday.

Allegri says the €112 million (£98m/$129m) signing from Real Madrid, who has scored four goals in his eight Serie A appearances, looks to be in encouraging form.

"I can only talk about what I see," he told a news conference. "I'm not the right person to talk about any other situation. Ronaldo played a fantastic game and he is working calmly. He scored a wonderful goal.

"I don't know how Ronaldo lives away from the pitch. I'm not his housemate! He really looks fine to me. He is working well and he is scoring a lot of goals."

The victory, Juve's eighth from a possible eight in the league this season, are now nine points clear of second-place Napoli ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's men facing Sassuolo on Sunday.

With the champions not playing again until October 20, Allegri is delighted to head into the international break having produced what he considers probably their best display of 2018-19.

"That was one of our best performances of the season so far – perhaps the absolute best," he said.

"We used all of the pitch well and afforded the opposition very little all game. I asked the lads to give me a relaxing international break and to keep a clean sheet. There was a risk we might have let up a little after nine wins but we played with great maturity."