Roma pull level as Juventus falter

(ANSA) - Rome, October 30 - 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.