The Sunday Mail
SERIE A has become almost a formality for Juventus over the last decade but the Turin side are suddenly facing an uphill battle as they chase a tenth successive title this season.
Juve host Udinese as Serie A resumes today after a 10-day Christmas break which has given them plenty of time to reflect on a their dismal 3-0 home defeat by Fiorentina.
Leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo spent part of that period in Dubai, a trip that raised eyebrows in Italy where ordinary citizens are under a Christmas and New Year lockdown and subject to severe travel restrictions.
In their first season under Andrea Pirlo — a man with no previous coaching experience — Juventus find themselves in sixth place with 24 points, 10 adrift of leaders AC Milan but with a game in hand.
Juve have become used to letting their rivals do the chasing in the last few seasons and the last time they were in a remotely similar situation was back in 2015-2016 when they were seven points behind the leaders at the similar stage.
Pirlo has insisted from the outset that his team are “under construction” and the Fiorentina debacle came just as they appeared to be taking shape with a 3-0 win away to Barcelona in the Champions League and a 4-0 drubbing of Parma. — Reuters.
