Dismal Juve collapses to shock Empoli’s defeat after Ronaldo’s departure

Juventus were stunned by Empoli rise in their first post-Cristiano Ronaldo era game, a 1-0 home loss in Serie A that left the ‘Old Lady’ toothless, while Ciro Immobile scored a hat. -trick for Lazio in a 6-1. Spezia’s beating.

The Turin giants would have been confident of their chances against their Tuscan opponents, but Leonardo Mancuso’s first goal in Italy’s top flight midway through the first half condemned Juve to an embarrassing defeat that angered fans at the Allianz Stadium.

Those fans will be concerned about their team’s chances of reclaiming the league title from fierce rival Inter Milan based on Saturday’s display and last week’s 2-2 draw in Udinese.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri practically shrugged and said “life goes on” when he revealed on Friday that superstar forward Ronaldo, now back at Manchester United, had told him he wanted to leave.

And after the defeat he tried to downplay the departure of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who would have saved Juve’s skin at Udinese had it not been for a fine offside decision.

“Cristiano spent three years at Juventus, I only had one. He scored goals, he did what was very good, he is a great player, but from now on we can no longer think about Cristiano Ronaldo, “Allegri told DAZN.

Mancuso’s dream

But Juve missed a vanguard in front of goal in what was the worst possible start to life without the 36-year-old, who last season topped the Serie A goal charts and scored more than 100 times for him in three seasons. in Italy.

Outraged home fans whistled them off the field, whose team is ranked 13th in Serie A with one point from their first two games.

Juve’s best play came before Mancuso’s goal turned the game around in the 21st minute, and Federico Chiesa was denied twice by excellent saves from Guglielmo Vicario.

After that, Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli, who were beaten 3-1 by Lazio last weekend, played bravely and equaled their most illustrious hosts for long stretches in what will be a famous victory for the club. the small town.

“You dream of something like that since you were a child and now it has happened, you still need time to believe it,” Mancuso, who is playing in Serie A for the first time at 29, told DAZN.

Stationary stars

In Rome, Lazio already looked like a signature Maurizio Sarri side when Immobile hit home their 3s in an extravagant performance.

Euro 2020 star Immobile scored her first goal just seconds after Daniele Verde gave Spezia a surprising lead in the fourth minute, leveling the score with a delicate shot and then ramming the second 10 minutes later with a first goal from out of the penalty. zone.

The 31-year-old missed a penalty in first-half injury time only to nod his head unmarked from the back corner to complete his hat-trick.

“He was telling me all kinds of things, I missed four penalties last season and I didn’t want to start that way this year,” Immobile told DAZN.

“I changed my mind about where to shoot at the last minute and that’s never worth it. It bothers me that he didn’t score the penalty, to be honest.”

Felipe Anderson, Elseid Hysaj and Luis Alberto, who also created three of the goals, added three more goals in style after the break as Lazio put on a passing soccer show that brings their goal count to nine in two games, with Immobile scoring four of them.

Atalanta looked devoid of ideas in their goalless draw with Bologna in Bergamo.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team struggled to create many opportunities and had to settle for a point after a disappointing performance.

Fiorentina came off the season mark with a 2-1 at home over Torino thanks to goals from Nicolás González and Dusan Vlahovic.

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