JUVENTUS boss Andrea Pirlo blasted his squad of stars for already ‘having their minds on holidays’ as they were thumped 3-0 by Fiorentina before Christmas.
The shock home defeat on Tuesday night saw the Serie A champs finish 2020 on a sour note down in sixth place, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo miffed.
Andrea Pirlo slammed his Juventus side for clocking off earlyCredit: EPA
Cristiano Ronaldo was left shocked and disappointed by the displayCredit: Alamy Live News
The Old Lady are ten points behind league leaders AC Milan and conceded after just THREE minutes as Dushan Vlahovic chipped in.
Chelsea flop Juan Cuadrado was sent off for a late lunge after 18 minutes as a VAR check saw his booking upgraded to a straight red.
Pirlo was raging after his ten men stumbled to a 3-0 defeat with Alex Sandro’s late own goal and Martin Caceres’ strike against his old side rubbing salt in the wounds.
He told Sky Sport Italia: “What happened with the red card cannot be used as an alibi.
“The images for the sending off seem clear to me.
“There could have been some decisions in our favour, but that’s not something I want to comment on – you can see for yourself
“The result was not down to Fiorentina’s attitude but the lack of ours.
“When this is the case you face bad situations like this. In games before Christmas it can happen then you have your mind on the holidays. We were unfocused and could not recover.”
Manager Andrea Pirlo only pockets £1.6million-per-year after taking charge of the club
Ronaldo suffered his first defeat of the season after missing the Barcelona loss due to his positive Covid tests and called for better in the New Year on Instagram.
He wrote: “We know that we have to give more of ourselves, in order to play better and to win in a more consistent way. We are Juventus! And we simply cannot accept anything less than excellence on the pitch!”
Not only was the defeat Ronaldo’s first of the season, it equalled his heaviest loss since joining Juventus in 2018 – matching a 3-0 Coppa Italia scoreline against Atalanta in January 2015.
It was also a night to forget for £400,000-a-week ex-Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey.
He was the player sacrificed by boss Andrea Pirlo after just 19 minutes when Cuadrado’s challenge forced a reshuffle with Danilo coming on to play wing-back.
The fuming Welshman booted a water bottle before taking his seat back among the subs for the remainder of the league game.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Pirlo seen together for first time as Juventus begin training ahead of new Serie A season
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
