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Maurizio Sarri sacked by Juventus two weeks after winning league title

Maurizio Sarri sacked by Juventus - AFP
Maurizio Sarri sacked by Juventus - AFP

Juventus have sacked coach Maurizio Sarri after one season in charge, following the team's elimination from the Champions League in the round of 16 on Friday.

"Juventus Football Club announces that Maurizio Sarri has been relieved of his post as coach of the first team," the club said on its website.

Sarri was dismissed despite leading Juventus to the Serie A title two weeks ago, their ninth in a row.

The Italian appears to have paid the price for Juventus again failing to win the Champions League. However, the chain-smoking 61-year-old has also struggled to impose his distinctive style in his first season in charge.

Napoli under Sarri used to weave intricate patterns through opposing defences, but Juve's play has often been characterised by sterile possession while their defence has lost its air of impregnability.

Club president Andrea Agnelli suggested on Friday night that he was considering changes.

"One match cannot decide how a season is evaluated," he said. "It has to be analysed in its totality, in general and keeping all elements in consideration.”

Having established domestic dominance in Italy and finished as Champions League runners-up in 2015 and 2017, Juventus saw Cristiano Ronaldo as the missing piece in the jigsaw when they signed the Portuguese two seasons ago. But it has not worked out like that.

The Turin side went out in the quarter-finals last season after being outclassed by Ajax Amsterdam, and on Friday they exited the competition in the last 16 against Olympique Lyonnais despite winning the second leg 2-1.

It is the first time since 2010 that Ronaldo has failed to reach the last eight of a competition that he has won five times.

There has been some speculation that 35-year-old Ronaldo, who has two years to run on his contract, could move elsewhere, though that has been denied by Juventus.