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Defeats on and off pitch leave Pirlo and Juventus in scrap for Serie A title | Nicky Bandini

After Juve’s walkover win over Napoli was cancelled and they lost 3-0 to Fiorentina, could it finally be someone else’s year?There have been times in Juventus’s recent history when dropping six points in a month might have been considered as a run of poor form. On Tuesday, they saw that number slip away in the space of less than six hours.First came the news that the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) had overturned the decision by Serie A’s sporting justice to award Juventus a 3-0 win for their unplayed game against Napoli in October. The Partenopei were a no-show for that fixture in Turin after two members of their first team, and a further member of staff, tested positive for Covid-19....

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Gone in six seconds: Serie A's fastest goal keeps Milan out in front

Winning the Scudetto was not on Milan’s list of objectives for this season, but investing this January would seem a wise moveRafael Leão needed 6.76 seconds to score, and four hours to become a Serie A punchline. His goal for Milan against Sassuolo was the fastest ever in the Italian top flight, and across any of Europe’s top five leagues. When Luis Muriel found the net within a minute of coming on as a substitute in Atalanta’s game later that afternoon, his teammate Matteo Pessina leapt from the bench to chide him: “Who do you think you are? Leão?”Over in Venice, meanwhile, the phone of Paolo Poggi would not stop buzzing. His strike for Piacenza against Fiorentina (8.9 seconds) had...

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Does the individual mean more than Atalanta's collective with Papu Gómez? | Nicky Bandini

Speculation that Gómez could be off has been escalating, before he came on to help seal a 1-1 draw at JuventusAs Atalanta lined up to face Juventus on Wednesday, their captain went to pick out a spot on the bench. Papu Gómez had been left out of the starting XI for the second game running – a third consecutive league fixture, in fact, if you consider the match against Udinese for which he was not even called up, but which ended up being postponed.Fans might have expected him to see in a sour mood, but the cameras at the Allianz Stadium found him smiling. Gómez was singing along to the Juventus club anthem, as it played over the stadium PA....

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Juve pretend it is business as usual to put heat on Napoli's Covid no-show | Nicky Bandini

The result of the biggest match of the season so far may be decided in court after Napoli stayed away because of CovidThe stage was set for one of the biggest games on the Serie A calendar – Juventus against Napoli, historic rivals from opposite ends of Italy’s boot. The wealthiest team in the country, fresh from their ninth consecutive title, against opponents who have consistently outperformed their budget to produce some of the most entertaining and effective football on the peninsula, finishing as runners-up in three of the past five years.The sub-plots were enticing. Could Andrea Pirlo, in his third game as a manager, answer the questions posed by his former teammate Gennaro Gattuso? Who would shine brighter between...

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Antonio Conte embraces the delirium as Inter rescue themselves | Nicky Bandini

Inter’s 4-3 comeback win against Fiorentina on Saturday was as wild as any we have seen in recent yearsIt was the second weekend of the season, but it felt more like the first. There had been too many protagonists missing from Serie A’s opening round, too many of the most fascinating storylines left on hold. Inter, Atalanta and Spezia were granted special dispensation to delay their starts to this campaign after concluding the previous one in mid-August.How could the show really get started without last season’s runners-up and top scorers, plus a club making its Serie A debut? Not to mention Benevento, Lazio and Udinese – the opponents they were scheduled to play in opening fixtures, which will be caught...

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