Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo has hinted he may use superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo sparingly after he enjoyed a perfect managerial debut.
Pirlo oversaw his first-ever fixture as a first-team coach on Sunday evening as the Serie A champions eased to a 3-0 victory over Sampdoria in what marked a new dawn for the Italian giants.
Scroll through the gallery to see Pirlo's dream Juventus managerial debut in pictures
The 2006 FIFA World Cup winner offered insight to his plans with a new-look formation and line-up as he offered three young talents their debuts with, Dejan Kulusevski, in particular shining alongside Ronaldo.
Both forwards found the back of the net at the Allianz Stadium in between captain Leonardo Bonucci's goal and as they got off their quest for a 10th consecutive league title in emphatic fashion.
And with Ronaldo now needing to play fewer games as he reaches the latter stages of his career, Pirlo made an honest statement with the knowledge of the five-time Ballon d'Or winners' dislike for not being in the starting line-up.
"We are thinking about [how to use Ronaldo] and talked it over," Pirlo said to Sky Sport Italia. "He's not tired yet, as we just started, but when we come up to less important games, we'll try to give him a rest.
"He's a very intelligent guy who knows his body very well, so he is aware of when it's time to rest or to step it up. When he will play depends on him."
Ronaldo has scored 66 goals and registered 19 assists in 90 games for the Bionconeri in all competitions since his €117-million switch from Real Madrid in July 2018.