MILAN: Juventus have started to turn their fortunes around in Serie A this season, but any resurgence from Massimiliano Allegri’s side will be severely tested by champions Inter Milan on Sunday.
Allegri's return to Juventus for a second spell as coach got off to a disastrous start as his side failed to win any of their opening four league games for the first time in 60 years.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Manchester United late in the transfer window was partly behind their slow start to the campaign.
“He (Ronaldo) left on August 28th, surely it would have been better for us if he left earlier to get ready for the season,” he told DAZN. “It’s something we paid for.
“It creates a shock for you and we paid for it in terms of points in the first games. Had he gone away on August 1st we would have had time to organise ourselves and we would have arrived more ready for the season."
With Ronaldo out of the picture, the goals have dried up, but that has not affected recent results, with Juve winning each of their last four matches in all competitions by a 1-0 scoreline.
Since their disappointing draw with AC Milan in September, Juve have won their last four league games to move up to seventh in the standings, three points behind Sunday's opponents Inter in third, who lost their unbeaten start to the league season at Lazio last weekend.
Simone Inzaghi’s side recovered from that 3-1 loss in Rome by earning their first Champions League win of the season against Sheriff Tiraspol, giving themselves a chance of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in a decade.
The other blockbuster clash on Sunday sees the only team in Europe’s top-five leagues with a 100% win record – Napoli – travel to the capital to face Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma.
Mourinho has already broken several records since returning to Italy for a second spell as coach – becoming the fastest manager to reach 50 Serie A wins, while also achieving the longest unbeaten home run in the division – and would relish bringing an end to Napoli’s fine start. AC Milan travel to Bologna on Saturday looking to put a miserable return to the Champions League to the backs of their minds, having lost all three of their group games in Europe this season following defeat in Porto on Tuesday. – Reuters
