ROME (Dispatches) -
Juventus slumped to a shock 1-0 home defeat to promoted Empoli in Serie A on Saturday in their first match of the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
Leonardo Mancuso’s strike midway through the first half at the Allianz Stadium was enough for a surprise win for the Tuscan team which left Juve with just one point from their opening two games.
Superstar forward Ronaldo left Juve on Friday before signing for Manchester United in a move that shocked European football.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri practically shrugged his shoulders and said “life goes on” when he revealed on Friday that superstar forward Ronaldo had told him he wanted to leave.
But Juve missed a cutting edge in front of goal in what was the worst possible start to life without the 36-year-old, who last year topped the Serie A goalscoring charts and scored over 100 times for the ‘Old Lady’ in three seasons in Italy.
They were whistled off the field by indignant home fans who are used to watching their team roll over the lesser lights of Serie A and will be worrying about their chances of taking the league title back from fierce rivals Inter Milan.