Pirlo holding off on Ronaldo-Dybala-Morata attack at Juventus

Juventus must patiently wait for Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala to recover full fitness before selecting both in a front three alongside Álvaro Morata, says Andrea Pirlo.

Dybala and Morata started in attack on Sunday as Juve took on Spezia in Serie A, looking for a first win in three.

That victory came, but Juventus only took control after Ronaldo - back following a negative coronavirus test this week - replaced Dybala shortly after half-time.

Morata had opened the scoring, before Spezia responded through Tommaso Pobega, while Dybala struggled.

Ronaldo's brace - either side of a strike from fellow substitute Adrien Rabiot - secured a 4-1 win, the Portuguese netting twice from the bench for the second time in his career. His previous such double came against Wigan Athletic for Manchester United in 2006.

But head coach Pirlo appears reluctant to switch to an exciting forward trio in the immediate future.

"We changed a bit for Spezia's approach," Pirlo told Sky Italia. "We brought Arthur a bit deeper because they were playing with three midfielders.

"But we played a good game. Dybala also played a good game. He lacks a little in terms of condition, but he is growing and we are waiting for him.

"It's still early because Cristiano comes from 20 days of inactivity, even Dybala is growing during the matches. But now we will see how we will do in the next few days and then we will decide."

Juventus are next in action on Wednesday when they face Ferencváros in the Champions League.

Morata linked up effectively in the final third with each of Dybala and Ronaldo on Sunday, firing wide early on from the Argentina international's pass before creating five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo's first goal two minutes after his introduction.

However, the Spanish striker, who also created a chance for Federico Chiesa, shared just five passes with Dybala and three with Ronaldo.