Blames mid-week Champions League win against Juve for 'mental pressure'
Juventus crushed visiting Sampdoria 5-1 on Wednesday to leapfrog the Genoa side into second place in Serie A but AC Milan's revival stalled when last-gasp goals earned Napoli a 2-2 draw.
Juventus appear to be suffering from a predictable early-season slump in the wake of a summer spent fumbling around the transfer market in a bid to rebuild a team that had grown to dominate Serie A.
Tottenham Hotspur paid the highest price for two mistakes as their Champions League dream came to a bitter end against Juventus on Wednesday, manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
Bayern Munich secured a place in the Champions League last 16 with an impressive 4-1 win at Juventus as former European champions Real Madrid and AC Milan also advanced to the knockout stage on Tuesday. Juventus were eliminated after Bayern came from behind to end the home side's 16-match unbeaten home run in Europe's premier club competition.
Valverde said he was concerned about the team's away form after they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by promoted Granada
Substitute Mario Balotelli scored a fluke goal moments after coming on to give Serie A leaders Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Bologna on Saturday. Jose Mourinho's side, who went ahead through Esteban Cambiasso before Miguel Britos equalised, stayed nine points clear after second-placed Juventus won 2-0 at Palermo.
Juventus laboured to a 1-0 win at struggling Siena to end a barren four-match run in Serie A on Sunday while a late Alessandro Nesta double earned resurgent AC Milan a stunning 2-1 comeback triumph at Chievo Verona.
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
Former Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri is poised to take over at AS Roma after Luciano Spalletti quit the Serie A side following their poor start to the season.
Samuel Eto'o coolly converted a penalty on his league debut but champions Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Bari in their Serie A opener on Sunday.
A stunning strike by Romelu Lukaku gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday although they had to cling on for three points in the face of heavy pressure from the promoted side.
France midfielder Paul Pogba is to undergo a medical at Manchester United ahead of a transfer from Serie A champions Juventus, the English Premier League club said on Sunday. United have been widely reported as being prepared to pay a world record fee of 120 million euros (101.78 million) for the 23-year-old who joined Juventus on a free transfer from the Old Trafford club in 2012. "Paul Pogba has been granted permission to have a medical in order to finalise his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United," said the statement.
Sevilla missed a chance to get their La Liga campaign up and running when the Europa League holders surrendered the lead and were held to a 1-1 draw at Levante on Friday.
Juventus are preparing to battle with an expensive war machine in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg against Chelsea, said coach Claudio Ranieri. Hosts Juve need to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Ranieri's former club, who have been revitalised by Guus Hiddink after the Dutchman took over as coach from Luiz Felipe Scolari last month.
The greatest goalkeeper of his generation, Juventus's Gianluigi Buffon tasted defeat in his third Champions League final as the major missing medal from his illustrious career once again slipped out of his grasp on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Cristiano Ronaldo has received an offer to leave Real Madrid and join Italian champions Juventus, a source close to the player said.
But if the five-times World Player of the Year is feeling frustrated by his mini-drought -- and his reactions on the pitch suggest he is -- his worries pale in comparison to Dybala's unhappy start to the season.
New strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano bagged their maiden Serie A goals to give AC Milan their first points of the season with a 2-1 home win over Empoli on Saturday.
Juventus booked their spot in the Italian Cup quarter-finals with an easy 3-0 home win over Catania on Wednesday.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will return to Juventus from Real Madrid on July 1 despite widespread supporter anger over the move.
AC Milan surged up to joint second in Serie A thanks to Filippo Inzaghi's hat-trick in a 5-1 home thrashing of lowly Torino on Sunday.
Juventus's win over Real Madrid has strengthened their conviction that they are good enough to rejoin European football's elite after years of watching the Champions League final stages from the sidelines.
Juventus beat Napoli 4-3 on penalties at home on Wednesday after a goalless draw to book a meeting with Lazio in the Italian Cup semi-finals.
United are 16th in the standings with a game in hand heading into the international break.
Paulo Dybala said his two-goal performance against Barcelona on Tuesday was the sort of night he had dreamed about since he used to play on the bumpy pitches of the Argentine second division as a slightly-built teenager.
Juventus beat a disorganised AC Milan 4-2 in an enthralling Serie A encounter on Sunday to go clear in second place. Striker Amauri scored twice to put Juve six points behind leaders Inter Milan, who earlier defeated bottom side Chievo 4-2, while Milan now trail their city rivals by nine after 16 matches.
Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Here is a round-up of results from the European League matches played on Wednesday
Zidane calls on Madrid fans to create best atmosphere ever against Bayern
The five-time world player of the year opened his account in the easiest possible fashion by tapping into an empty net from less than two metres in the 50th minute.
A Christian Panucci goal gave 10-man AS Roma a 2-1 home win over strugglers Empoli on Saturday, cutting Inter Milan's lead in Serie A to four points before the champions take on Juventus.
Giorgio Chiellini's last minute header gave Juventus a 3-2 win at Cagliari in Serie A.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
AS Roma moved to within four points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan with a 2-0 home win over Catania on Sunday but third-placed Juventus lost ground.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Juventus will end 2013 five points clear at the top of Serie A after a 4-1 victory at Atalanta stretched their winning league run to nine games on Sunday.
Second-half goals by Mauro Camoranesi and David Trezeguet gave Juventus a 2-1 win at Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday, while second-placed AS Roma beat Empoli 2-1 to move within four points of the champions.
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