Juve trash Sampdoria in Pirlo's managerial debut

ROME - Andrea Pirlo started his coaching career in Turin with a comprehensive victory, as defending champions Juventus opened their 2020-21 Serie A season by whitewashing Sampdoria 3-0 on Sunday.

Pirlo replaced Maurizio Sarri to become the head coach of Juve's senior squad in August, just 10 days after the maestro took charge of the U-23 team.

In Sunday's game, Pirlo started new arrivals Dejan Kulusevski and Weston McKennie, with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attacking line.

Kulusevski put Juve in charge in the first half, while Leonardo Bonucci and Ronaldo sealed matters after the break.

"We had an excellent first half, it's a pity we didn't end the game right away, we dropped physically in the second half and we knew that they were aiming for breakaways, but we were good at controlling them," Pirlo said after the match.

"The relationship with the players is excellent, it is important to have a dialogue with them," the 41-year old added.

Napoli also got their new season off to a good start as the Coppa Italia holder dominated Parma 2-0 with Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne on target.

In Sunday's other Serie A matches, Genoa crushed newly promoted Crotone 4-1 while Sassuolo tied with Cagliari 1-1.