Cristiano Ronaldo blast helps Juventus beat Genoa

July 1 (UPI) -- Cristiano Ronaldo ripped in a second-half score to help Juventus beat Genoa in a Serie A soccer match in Genoa, Italy.

Ronaldo's blast came in the 56th minute of the 3-1 triumph Tuesday at Luigi Ferraris Stadium. Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa also scored for Juventus.

"The team did well, the ball was travelling fast," Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri told reporters. "We often found ourselves shooting at goal without conceding anything, and in this good team performance, three beautiful goals were scored."

The Italian squads played a scoreless first half before Dybala drew first blood in the 50th minute. Juventus navigated a very crowded Genoa box during that sequence. Right back Juan Cuadrado played the ball off to Dybala at the top of the box at the start of the play.

The Juventus striker then cut his dribble between two defenders and raced into the box. He the slashed in front of two more defenders, from right to left, before he smashed a left-footed shot through a narrow window. The ball curved into the left side of the net past Genoa keeper Mattia Perin.

Juventus stole the ball from Genoa to race into transition to spark Ronaldo's score. Center midfielder Miralem Pjanic passed the ball to Ronaldo near midfield at the start of the sequence. Ronaldo then dribbled half the distance of the field before he eyed a shot while about 25 yards from the net. He finished the play with a rope of a shot into the right side of the net, past a diving Perin.

Substitute Douglas Costa added Juventus' final score with an absolute beauty in the 73rd minute. The Juventus striker received a pass from Dybala at the top right section of the box on that play. He then tapped his dribble to his left before he sliced high and bent shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Genoa striker Andrea Pinamonti added his squad's lone score in the 76th minute. Davide Biraschi found Pinamonti deep inside the Juventus box on that play. Pinamonti finished the sequence with a blast into the near-post netting from point-blank range.

Juventus leads the Serie A standings by four points over second-place Lazio. Ronaldo's squad battles Torino at 11:15 a.m. EDT Saturday in Turin, Italy.