Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo questioned his team’s focus after they were thumped 3-0 at home by mid-table Fiorentina, leaving the Turin giants fourth in the Serie A standings and seven points adrift of leaders AC Milan.
Juve found themselves behind after just three minutes on Tuesday when Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring for Fiorentina, before the night got worse for the hosts when they lost winger Juan Cuadrado to a straight red card in the 18th minute after the Colombian lunged in recklessly on Gaetano Castrovilli.
Alex Sandro diverted the ball into his own net in the 76th minute before Martin Caceres completed victory for Fiorentina with a finish on the break five minutes later.
Despite being a man down for much of the match, Juve had 54 percent of possession and managed 13 shots – but just three of those efforts were on target as Cristiano Ronaldo failed to add to his tally of 12 league goals this season and his teammates suffered a first Serie A defeat of the current campaign, as well as a first league loss under new boss Pirlo.
Afterwards, the 41-year-old Pirlo suggested his players had already been in holiday mood, and refused to blame the defeat on Cuadrado’s dismissal.
“What happened with the red card cannot be used as an alibi,” the former midfield maestro said, Goal reported. “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.
“The images for the sending off seem clear to me. There could have been some decisions in our favor, but that’s not something I want to comment on – you can see for yourself.”
The defeat leaves Juve fourth in the table on 24 points from 13 games – seven points off unbeaten leaders AC Milan – as the Bianconeri chase a 10th straight Scudetto.
To compound matters on a day when the men in black and white suffered their heaviest defeat since moving to the Allianz Stadium in 2011, Juventus also saw Napoli win their appeal against October’s abandoned fixture between the sides.
Juventus had been awarded the points and a 3-0 victory for the game after Napoli failed to travel, citing Covid-19 regulations.
The Italian National Olympic Committee’s Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport – the nation’s highest sporting authority in the country – ruled on Tuesday that the game must be replayed in early 2021.
Juventus played only once today but somehow managed to lose 6 points pic.twitter.com/rQnIVHvfT4
“We don’t mind playing the game again. I’m more disappointed for the other teams that have traveled and played without far more players who had Covid,” Pirlo said of the decision. “They showed great fairness by playing anyway.
“I won’t say if the ruling was correct or not, but it didn’t seem fair to the other teams who carried on and played in more difficult situations.”
It is shaping up to be a difficult first season in the dugout for Pirlo, the surprise choice to succeed Maurizio Sarri when the Italian left the club in the summer after just one season.
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey was seen venting his frustration by kicking a water bottle after he was sacrificed in the 19th minute following Cuadrado’s red card, with the Welshman being replaced by defender Danilo.
Teams in Italy now have a short festive break before resuming at the start of January, when Juventus host Udinese in their first game of the New Year.
