Cristiano Ronaldo high-fives invisible fans as Juventus beat Inter Milan in empty stadium

Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala secured victory with no fans in attendance due to coronavirus

Inter Milan's Italian midfielder Nicolo Barella vies with Cristiano Ronaldo in the last game for the Serie A leaders on March 8 before the lockdown. Juve won 2-0. AFP

Juventus' Paulo Dybala celebrates scoring their second goal. Reuters

Empty stands during the Italian Serie A match between Juventus and Inter Milan at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. EPA

The stands are thinly populated as Juventus play Inter. LaPresse via AP

Paulo Dybala scores. Getty Images

Inter Milan's Christian Eriksen in action. Reuters

Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is helped by Inter Milan's Italian forward Antonio Candreva. AFP

Juventus' Paulo Dybala celebrates scoring. EPA

Empty stands during the Serie A match between Juventus and Inter. EPA

Juventus players celebrate their win. EPA

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Inter. EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo was seen pretending to high-five fans as Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0 in front of no spectators on Sunday night.

The Serie A clash was played out in an empty stadium amid the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, which has seen 7,375 cases and 366 deaths in the country so far.

Ronaldo stepped off the team bus before the match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin and headed over to where fans are normally gathered.

As there was no-one there, he then motioned as if high-fiving a number of people before breaking out into a smile for the camera.

Juventus secured victory thanks to goals from Paulo Dybala and Aaron Ramsey, and have moved back to the top of the league table, one point ahead of Lazio and nine clear of third-placed Inter.

It was the first time Ronaldo has failed to score in Serie A since November 10, but he did come close on a number of occasions.

The fixture marked his 1,000th official appearance. He posted on Instagram afterwards: "So proud to reach 1000 official games in my career with a very important victory that put 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."

During his 1,000 matches, he has played across 18 seasons for four clubs and scored 725 goals - 164 games and 99 goals for Portugal, 75 matches and 53 goals for Juventus, 438 games and 450 goals for Real Madrid, 292 matches and 118 goals for Manchester United, and 31 matches and 5 goals for Sporting.

Fans watching the match on television could clearly hear the voices of the players and coaching staff for what appeared to be more of a training match than a vital Serie A clash between two of Europe's biggest clubs.

A decree from the Italian government last week enforced all sporting events in Italy to take place without spectators until April 3.