Cristiano Ronaldo cheekily greeted non-existent fans ahead of Juventus’ Serie A showdown vs Inter on Sunday.
Juve secured a 2-0 win over their title rivals thanks to second-half goals from Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala.
The result saw Maurizio Sarri’s men leapfrog Lazio at the top of the Serie A table and move nine points clear of Antonio Conte’s Inter.
But the game was played without any fans inside Juventus’ Turin stadium following the Italian government’s ruling to ban spectators from attending sporting events until April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
More than 7,000 people have been infected by the deadly disease in Italy, with the death toll at over 300.
Italy has been the worse-hit European country as 110,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 worldwide.
Ronaldo made the most of his 1,000th senior match as he high-fived non-existent supporters when he got off the team bus, while grinning towards the TV cameras.
And after his earlier joke, Ronaldo even went one step further when he clapped empty seats while warming up on the Allianz Stadium pitch!
Ronaldo, who assisted Ramsey for the opening goal, took to social media to comment on reaching 1,000 professional appearances.
He wrote on Twitter: “So proud to reach 1,000 official games in my career with a very important victory that put [sic] us on the top of the table again!
“Thank you to all my teammates, coaches, my family & friends and to my fans that helped me to reach this great achievement.”
