'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Juventus fell to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina. The Old Lady were put on the backfoot early on in the match as Juan Cuadrado received a red card in the 18th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co never seemed to recover from that as Fiorentina secured a famous victory away from home.
This is Juventus' heaviest defeat at the Allianz Stadium since they moved here 9 years ago. Andrea Pirlo was not happy with his players' attitude in the defeat. Speaking after the match, he said:
"What happened with the red card cannot be used as an alibi," he told Sky Sport Italia. "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 favour, but that's not something I want to comment on – you can see for yourself.
The result leaves Juventus on 4th place with 24 points while struggling Firoentina moved up to 15th place with 14 points. Surprisingly, the ever reliable Leonardo Bonucci looked really shaky at the back and was arguably at fault for all the 3 goals.
Pirlo, however defended his captain saying:
"A bad night happens to everyone but he's put in great performances so far. It can happen to anyone but he's our captain and we have great confidence in him
Although Cristiano Ronaldo had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half, Firoentina always looked threatening with veteran winger Franck Ribery putting in an accomplished performance.
The Frenchman looked sharp throughout and caused the likes of Bonucci and De Ligt plenty of problems throughout the night. This result casts a serious doubt on Juventus' title challenge and it will be interesting to see how Cristiano Ronaldo and Co recover from this damaging defeat.
Best Tweets from Juventus 0-3 Fiorentina
Cristiano Ronaldo needs more support from his Juventus teammates
Andrea Pirlo is now under a lot of pressure
Also read: Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane chooses between Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema
