Serie A Juventus 0-1 Empoli: Mancuso shocks Allegri
Leonardo Mancuso pounced on a loose ball to give Empoli a shock victory in Turin, as a dismal Juventus deservedly lost their first match of the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era and were booed off the pitch.
Max Allegri reshuffled his pack for the first game since Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United, missing injured Aaron Ramsey, Arthur and Kaio Jorge, with Manuel Locatelli not yet fit to start, so Danilo played in front of the defence.
Federico Chiesa’s early strike hit Guglielmo Vicario on the chest, then he went on a solo run against the entire Empoli defence from his own half, forcing a fingertip save.
However, Leonardo Bonucci needed a crucial interception to stop Leonardo Mancuso tapping in. Juve didn’t learn that lesson, as Empoli took the lead with a similar move, Filippo Bandinelli wreaking havoc down the left, pulling back for the Patrick Cutrone attempt blocked, Mancuso scoring on the rebound.
Vicario got down quickly on Chiesa, but Empoli remained dangerous, Cutrone blasting not far off target and Chiesa risking an own goal with Wojciech Szczesny fingertipping the wayward header over the bar.
Alvaro Morata replaced makeshift trequartista Weston McKennie for the restart and Manuel Locatelli tried to redirect a Dejan Kulusevski pull-back, but Empoli goalkeeper Vicario wasn’t tested in the second half and the players seemed not to have a plan when getting into the final third.
The Bianconeri were booed off the pitch both at half-time and especially the final whistle, with just one point from the opening two rounds against Udinese and Empoli.
Juventus 0-1 Empoli
Mancuso 21 (E)