A couple of weeks ago, we spoke of Juventus’ league campaign this season compared to their European adventures.
It was mentioned that Massimiliano Allegri was possibly prioritising the Champions League over Serie A, due to the belief that they might have a historic fifth-straight Scudetto all but won already.
Six games in, and the Bianconeri have won once, drawn twice and lost three times, while the teams who previously looked unlikely to challenge for the title this term are starting to pick up their pace.
Juventus sit 15th in the league table, and the current gap of 10 points between them and first place is growing bigger week by week.
A 1-1 draw at home to newly promoted Frosinone and then a 2-1 defeat by Napoli on the weekend didn’t do much to remove worries, either.
Perhaps they are still concentrating more on the Champions League over their domestic chances, but it is getting a bit late to do so.
It’s getting so far into the season, in fact, that a title win this year is slowly but surely starting to move out of the grasp of the Old Lady.
Captain Gianluigi Buffon was first to accept this, advising the squad to forget the Scudetto for now.
“The gap is so wide that we can’t comfortably find our way back to the top,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
The 37-year-old’s experience in the game is something that should be listened to.
Over the past nine years, no team has won the league title from a position lower than third after round six.
That doesn’t look likely to change this season, with Allegri’s men giving a lacklustre performance against the Partenopei on Saturday.
Summer signing Hernanes failed to prove his worth in a Bianconeri shirt while Paul Pogba, after his excellent performance against Genoa last weekend, put in average displays.
Despite Sami Khedira being set to return from injury against Sevilla in the Champions League, key defender Stephan Lichtsteiner and midfielder Stefano Sturaro are yet to learn how many weeks they will miss.
Claudio Marchisio and Mario Mandzukic are also both still sidelined.
Even if the whole squad doesn’t pick up any knocks for the rest of the season, it’s a large hill for Juventus to climb before they can seriously challenge for the title again.
Inter lost 4-1 to Fiorentina on the weekend but had had a 100% success rate prior to that match, while La Viola are top for the first time in 16 years and third-placed Torino are making a comeback into the high league places.
Although unlikely to challenge for the Scudetto come May, Sassuolo are also doing better than Juventus at the moment, being the only side in the league undefeated so far this term.
It is no longer a one-horse race in Serie A. The past four years were an easy ride, but there are more obstacles to face for the team from Turin to find the same success this season.
