Juventus' decision to dump Thiago Motta followed a 4-0 defeat by Atalanta -- their heaviest home defeat since 1967 -- and a 3-0 loss at Fiorentina in the team's last two games.
Khephren Thuram's fine first-time finish in the 72nd minute and a late strike from Teun Koopmeiners saw off struggling Verona.
Empoli have collected only two points from their last 11 Serie A matches, but shocked Juventus with a dramatic penalty shootout win.
Juventus stopped Inter Milan from replacing Napoli at the top of Serie A on Sunday by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into Italy's Champions League positions.
Inter Milan have top spot in Serie A in their sights as the Italian champions head to Turin on Sunday to take on fierce rivals Juventus just one point behind league leaders Napoli.
Champions LeagueRound Of 16 Draw Live Telecast: After a thrilling end to the revamped group stage, the focus now shifts to the knockout playoffs with some interesting matchups in store.
Napoli continued their Serie A title charge on Saturday by coming from behind to win a feverish contest with rivals Juventus 2-1 and go six points clear at the top of the table
Romelu Lukaku fired Napoli six points clear at the top of Serie A with the decisive goal in Saturday's thrilling 3-2 win at title rivals Atalanta
AC Milan came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 on Friday and set up a showdown with city rivals Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh.
Broadcaster DAZN reported that Fiorentina fans hurled insults in the direction of their former player Vlahovic, who is Serbian.
Holders Juventus progressed to the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup with a 4-0 win at home to Cagliari on Tuesday.
Manchester City's crisis continued with a 2-0 defeat away to Juventus in the Champions League, while Pep Guardiola's old club Barcelona beat Borussia Dortmund to clinch a spot in the knockout stage.
Manchester City's malaise leaves the English champions in the unusual position of fretting over qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League ahead of a tricky trip to Italian giants Juventus
Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0, while Aston Villa saw a stoppage time goal disallowed.
Paul Pogba's Juventus career is over after the Serie A club announced on Friday that the France midfielder's contract had been terminated even though his doping ban was cut to 18 months on appeal
Juventus edged a tense derby against city rivals Torino 2-0 on Saturday to move within one point of the summit of Serie A
Pogba is currently serving an 18-month ban due to doping.
Kenan Yildiz fired Juventus back from two goals down to draw 4-4 in an incredible clash at Inter Milan on Sunday