Andrea Pirlo got his coaching career off to a winning start as Juventus beat Sampdoria 3-0 in Serie A on Sunday.
Dejan Kulusevski scored early in his debut and second-half goals from Leonardo Bonucci and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the result on a day which saw fans return to Serie A stadiums.

“They are great players and I am so confident because I see every day quality players who are working toward the team in order to improve,” Pirlo said.“Of course, we have just started and we have time to improve, but the commitment of the players to give it all to the team is there and that gives me a lot of comfort.”

It was a positive day for debutants as Weston McKennie _ the first American to play for Juventus _ had a hand in Bonucci’s goal and also sparked a move which led to Ronaldo hitting the crossbar.

McKennie arrived having already started preseason training in Germany, so is in better shape than some others,” Pirlo said. “He did well. He made a few errors but it was the first game, we can forgive him for that.”