Many Juventus fans are starting
to worry about their side's ability to land a fourth consecutive
Serie A title after their problems were exposed in Wednesday's
last-gasp defeat at Genoa.
Although it was the champions' first loss in Serie A this
season, it enabled rivals AS Roma to catch them at the top of
the table and certified that the Turin giants are going through
an uninspired spell, especially away from home.
Massimiliano Allegri's men risk failing to progress from
the Champions League knockout stage after losing their two away
games in Group A - at Olympiakos and Atletico Madrid.
And they also dropped points in their previous road game
in Serie A, a 1-1 draw at Sassoulo.
The statistics say that Juve were far the better side in
Genoa, as they had more possession, time in their opponents'
half and shots on goal.
But much of their movement and passing was horizontal, and
they seem to have lost the penetration they had as they marched
to three consecutive scudetti under former boss Antonio Conte,
now Italy coach.
As a result, Genoa defender Luca Antonini was able to
punish the visitors with a 94th-minute winner.
Allegri, whose side have 22 points from nine games, tried
to play down the significance of Wednesday's loss.
"I can only criticise my players for the last 30 seconds,"
the former AC Milan boss said.
"Leagues are won with the help of draws and you can't
concede a goal like that in the closing stages.
"We hit the post and (Genoa goalkeeper Mattia) Perin made
two or three excellent stops.
"Games like this are there for the taking, but when you're
unable to get the win, you certainly cannot lose them.
"We had six players on two for their goal and should have
concentrated on defending well.
"Instead we were perhaps trying to win the ball back to go
up the other end and score.
"We must take heed of tonight's result and grow in
maturity. The lads have character, technical ability, desire and
intelligence.
"We need to take the positives out of tonight's game in
order to avoid committing more mistakes in the future."
Roma beat promoted Cesena 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on
Wednesday thanks to goals by Mattia Destro and Daniele De Rossi.
Milan, Sampdoria and Udinese are joint third on 16 points.
Napoli, Inter and Genoa are joint sixth on 15, along with
Lazio, who have a game in hand.
The Romans can rise to second outright, on 18 points, if
they beat Verona away Thursday night.
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