Juventus look to close gap on record chasers AS Roma
31 Oct 2013 5:29 AM IST
The Bianconeri have endured a tough two weeks, seeing their Champions League group hopes nosedive with defeat away to Real Madrid, four days after suffering a first reverse of the season in a 4-2 away defeat to Fiorentina.
Despite a dominant 2-0 win over Genoa on Sunday, the spotlight has been directed away from the Turin giants and southwards towards league leaders Roma.
Roma’s fairytale start under Frenchman Rudi Garcia continued Sunday when they set a new Serie A record of nine consecutive wins at the start of a season. Their 1-0 win away at Udinese was all the more impressive as defender Maicon had been sent off earlier in the second half, and Udinese had not been beaten at home for over a year. In the absence of injured captain Francesco Totti, likely to be sidelined for another two weeks, Garcia will be relying on Moroccan Mehdi Benarti to marshal his forward line away to the ‘Flying Donkeys’.
Chievo sit bottom of the table, but having seen league newcomers Sassuolo pull off a sensational 1-1 draw at title contenders Napoli on September 25, Garcia was quick to warn his side against complacency in Thursday’s only fixture.
‘Although we’ve already won our most difficult match of the season so far (against Napoli), everyone thinks we’ve already won the game against Chievo,’ Garcia told the Roma Channel.
‘All the games in Italy are tough, and this one will be even tougher. Look at what happened with Napoli v Sassuolo for example,’ added the 49-year-old, who guided unfashionable Lille to the 2011 Ligue 1 title.
While not dismissing Roma’s impressive start, Juventus striker Carlos Tevez said the scudetto battle has just begun. ‘There’s a long way to go,’ said Tevez.
Wednesday - Cagliari v Bologna, Fiorentina v Napoli, Genoa v Parma, Verona v Sampdoria, Juventus v Catania, Livorno v Torino, Milan v Lazio, Sassuolo v Udinese Thursday - Roma v Chievo.
Despite a dominant 2-0 win over Genoa on Sunday, the spotlight has been directed away from the Turin giants and southwards towards league leaders Roma.
Roma’s fairytale start under Frenchman Rudi Garcia continued Sunday when they set a new Serie A record of nine consecutive wins at the start of a season. Their 1-0 win away at Udinese was all the more impressive as defender Maicon had been sent off earlier in the second half, and Udinese had not been beaten at home for over a year. In the absence of injured captain Francesco Totti, likely to be sidelined for another two weeks, Garcia will be relying on Moroccan Mehdi Benarti to marshal his forward line away to the ‘Flying Donkeys’.
Chievo sit bottom of the table, but having seen league newcomers Sassuolo pull off a sensational 1-1 draw at title contenders Napoli on September 25, Garcia was quick to warn his side against complacency in Thursday’s only fixture.
‘Although we’ve already won our most difficult match of the season so far (against Napoli), everyone thinks we’ve already won the game against Chievo,’ Garcia told the Roma Channel.
‘All the games in Italy are tough, and this one will be even tougher. Look at what happened with Napoli v Sassuolo for example,’ added the 49-year-old, who guided unfashionable Lille to the 2011 Ligue 1 title.
While not dismissing Roma’s impressive start, Juventus striker Carlos Tevez said the scudetto battle has just begun. ‘There’s a long way to go,’ said Tevez.
Wednesday - Cagliari v Bologna, Fiorentina v Napoli, Genoa v Parma, Verona v Sampdoria, Juventus v Catania, Livorno v Torino, Milan v Lazio, Sassuolo v Udinese Thursday - Roma v Chievo.
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