Empoli vs Juventus - Serie A LIVE: Latest updates as Cristiano Ronaldo scores two goals
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Your support makes all the difference.Juventus will look to get back to winning ways in Serie A when they travel to third-from-bottom Empoli on Saturday evening.
Massimiliano Allegri’s outfit were comfortable winners against Manchester United in the Champions League in midweek but dropped their first points of the season in all competitions last weekend with a 1-1 draw at home to Genoa.
Empoli’s only win of the season came on the opening day against Cagliari, and having lost five of the subsequent eight games, Aurelio Andreazzoli’s side are right up against it as they welcome the champions to Tuscany.
Follow the live action below:
What time does it start?
Empoli vs Juventus kicks off at 5pm.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Eleven Sports 2 from 4:50pm. Fans can also watch the match on Eleven Sports through iOS mobile and tablet apps as well as on Android mobiles. Highlights will be shown at 11:30pm on Eleven Sports 2.
It’s a big game for…
Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese set up Dybala for the winner against his former club but the 33-year-old was not as influential as the United faithful became accustomed to seeing during his time in Manchester. He had a rasping drive expertly saved by David de Gea, but his lack of opportunities in front of goal was out of character for the former Real Madrid man.
Player to watch…
Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian’s performance at Old Trafford demonstrated to the Manchester United faithful exactly what they are lacking in their midfield. He was composed and easy on the eye throughout the 90 minutes and he ensured the Old Lady kept the ball ticking at all times. Empoli will be in for a tough evening if they let the 28-year-old dictate terms as he did in midweek.
Past three meetings…
Juventus 2 (Skorupski og, Alex Sandro) Empoli 0, Serie A, February 2017
Empoli 0 Juventus 3 (Dybala, Higuain x2), Serie A, October 2016
Juventus 1 (Mandzukic) Empoli 0, Serie A, April 2016
Form guide…
Empoli: LLDLLD
Juventus: WWWWDW
Odds…
Empoli to win: 10/1
Juventus to win: 27/100
Draw: 17/4
86 mins: Empoli still trying to build but struggling to really create any more opportunities.
88 mins: CHANCE!
It's a half chance really for Empoli but Krunic makes a bit of room for himself on the edge of the box but drags his right-footed shot and it's tame.
Easy to collect for Szczesny.
90 mins: Barzagli coming on for De Sciglio to make a flat back five and try and hold on to their 3 points.
Corner to Empoli, though.
90+1 mins: Juventus clear the danger and win a free-kick in their own half.
I imagine they're in no rush to take this.
90+3 mins: CHANCE!
Last chance saloon for Empoli and the free-kick ricochets for a chance but it it cleared again.
Caputo sees the ball fall to him on the edge of the box and he tries a speculative left footed drive that looks set for the top corner but it goes just over the bar.
EMPOLI 1-2 JUVENTUS
The Old Lady have been forced to work very hard for these three points but a Cristiano Ronaldo brace provided the hard-fought victory.
Empoli took a surprise lead into the second half as Caputo struck a wonderful left footed drive beyond Szczesny.
But Juventus hit back after the break with a controversial penalty before Ronaldo stole the show with a wonderful 30-yard strike.
Empoli continued to battle until the final seconds but simply did not have the quality to equalise.
Juventus have extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points as things stand with Napoli still to play their game in hand.
Empoli, meanwhile, remain in 18th but can consider themselves unlucky to have not got anything today.
They have fixtures against teams around them in the coming weeks and will hope to capitalise on the opportunity.
Thanks for joining us for the action this evening as Juventus extend their grip at the top of Serie A.
This man netted his sixth and seventh goals in the famous black and white strip as the relentless Juve train marches on.
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