Ronaldo scores to earn Pirlo a winning start
A debut goal from Dejan Kulusevski and strikes from Leonardo Bonucci and Cristiano Ronaldo earned Juventus a 3-0 win over Sampdoria in Andrea Pirlo's first game in charge.
Legendary player Pirlo, appointed in August after the sacking of Maurizio Sarri, saw his reign get off to an impressive start at Allianz Stadium on Monday (AEST).
Young midfielder Kulusevski found the net inside 13 minutes with a cool finish and Bonucci added a deserved second for Juve with 12 minutes to play, following up after Weston McKennie's shot was saved from a corner.
Ronaldo, who had earlier hit the crossbar, rounded out the scoring late on after being teed up by Aaron Ramsey, helping the hosts make a bright start to their latest title defence in Serie A.
The match was played in front of 1000 spectators as Serie A stadiums reopened on Monday (AEST) to a limited number of fans after a seven-month coronavirus lockdown.
Pirlo could not have hoped for a better start to his coaching career having.
The win against Sampdoria, coached by veteran Claudio Ranieri, came just days after the former Italy and Juventus star received his coaching diploma.
Juventus handed debuts to McKennie and Kulusevski, who joined from Atalanta in January before immediately returning to Parma on loan.
Kulusevski curled in the first goal in a move started by Ronaldo, who hit the bar minutes later.
But it was not until the last quarter of an hour that the Italian champion finally killed off the game it dominated.
Juventus heads to Roma next week with the side from the capital held to a goalless draw in its opener on Sunday(AEST), before hosting Napoli, 2-0 winners this weekend against Parma.
