🇮🇹 A statement win gets tongues wagging ... are Juventus back? | OneFootball

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It all started with a win against Torino.

In the 2015/16 campaign, Juventus boss Max Allegri was under pressure with just three wins from the opening ten games.

Then, on 31 October, his side took a 2-1 victory from the Turin derby, a result that kickstarted a 26-game unbeaten run (registering 25 wins) that cataulted them to the title.

While that’s all in the past, there may be an interesting parallel to be drawn here and now.

With just three wins from their first nine games of the current season, Juve faced Torino on 15 October and came away with a 1-0 win.

And they’ve won every league game since.

That includes Sunday night’s Derby d’Italia fixture with Inter, where a superb second half performance showed there’s life in the Old Lady yet.

“There is joy to beat a great side like Inter, but then we immediately need to get back the focus for the next two matches and at that point can draw a line under 2022,” Allegri admitted in his post-match press conference.

“There is a long season ahead of us, Napoli are doing remarkably well and we’ll see what happens after the World Cup.”

Now out of the Champions League, his side may be able to focus on a shock title charge …if they have one in them. With five Juve titles already under his belt, it’s a tried and tested path to glory for Max Allegri.

Plus, he finally has Federico Chiesa back in the side, and the recoveries of Paul Pogba, Dušan Vlahović and Ángel Di María to look forward to.

A look at the table shows that Juve sit ten points behind Napoli in fifth place, but with two rounds of fixtures to be played before the World Cup break, it could be a very interesting week ahead.

And elsewhere …

Highlights available in UK and Ireland only

Napoli faced a huge test when they travelled to Bergamo to face an Atalanta side who had lost only once. That mountain became even bigger as La Dea took the lead, but an inspired performance from Victor Osimhen saw Napoli make the comeback and take the three points, stretching the gap at the top of the table to six points.

Lazio faced the daunting prospect of a Rome derby without star duo Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinković-Savić, but Felipe Anderson stepped up to the plate and scored the winner as Roma’s struggles continue.

The Maldini name will be forever associated with Milan, but Paolo’s son Daniel gave the Rossoneri a scare when his superbly executed goal gave Spezia an equaliser at San Siro on Saturday. It looked like that strike would earn Spezia a point, but up stepped the in-form Olivier Giroud to fire home a 90th minute winner … before he received a second yellow card for taking off his shirt during the exuberant celebrations.

😱 Goal of the Weekend

Olivier Giroud is making it almost impossible for France boss Didier Deschamps to ignore him at the moment, and his latest strike was up there with the best.

Not only was it a 90th minute winner, but he fired home from an almost impossible angle, reminding boss Stefano Pioli of a goal his Lazio side conceded during a famous Rome derby comeback.

“It did remind me of the Francesco Totti one,” the coach admitted. “We were 2-0 up and it ended 2-2, that’s what came to mind.”

🥇 Player of the Weekend

Filip Kostić is turning out to be an inspired signing. A standout performer even during spells where the rest of his Juventus teammates have been in poor form, he once again proved decisive in the victory over Inter.

His lung-busting runs down the left wing always prove to be dangerous, and Inter simply couldn’t cope with his ability on Sunday evening.

Recovering the ball six times and making three clearances, the Serbia international covered all the bases defensively, while also providing two assists and creating three big chances.

The very definition of a modern wing-back.