But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
Belenenses is one of Portugal's oldest clubs, but split with Belenenses SAD in 2018 over a dispute and were forced to start again from the bottom of the Portuguese football pyramid.
Real appointed former Spain manager Julen Lopetegui on Tuesday, but Allegri had been among the front-runners to take over from Zidane, who quit after winning a remarkable three successive Champions League trophies.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
In his fifth World Cup, Ronaldo will arrive captaining a team of standout players who are widely seen as among the world's best but who have arguably underachieved on the biggest stage.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group C match played between Argentina and Poland on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored a 50th freekick goal for Barcelona as he led his side to a quick-fire comeback to win 3-2 at Valencia on Sunday and keep the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Images from the matches played across football leagues in Europe on Sunday.
Instead, Allegri said on Monday, he would throw on all his best attacking players in an attempt to outscore his opponents in the first leg at the Juventus stadium.
Barcelona continued their rampant run of domestic form to beat Osasuna 2-0 away from home on Saturday and move to within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, with Lionel Messi setting up goals scored by Jordi Alba and teenager Ilaix Moriba.
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 600th league appearance with his 20th Serie A goal of the season as Juventus beat Spezia 3-0 on Tuesday to move within three points of second-placed AC Milan.
Says Real Madrid weaker without the Portuguese
Pirlo started his first season in charge of a senior side looking to make it 10 successive Serie A titles for Juve, but the rookie coach struggled.
Juventus look set to wrap up their fourth successive Serie A title in the next seven days although the crowd violence which marred Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Torino could take the shine of their celebrations.
Lazio took another bite out of Juventus's lead at the top of Serie A when they beat Atalanta 2-0 on Sunday after Sergio Floccari appeared to use his hand before scoring the opening goal.
News of that transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Juventus coach Antonio Conte is set to miss the whole of the Serie A season with the defending champions after losing his appeal against a 10-month ban over a match-fixing scandal on Wednesday.
Goals from Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado sent Juventus back to the top of the Serie A table with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Brescia on Sunday.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez struck to give the Serie A champions a 1-0 win over AC Milan on Saturday, handing coach Massimiliano Allegri a winning return to San Siro where he was shown the door eight months ago.
Defiant 10-man Porto upset Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw despite losing 3-2 to the Italians following extra time in a thrilling clash that went to the wire on Tuesday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona's pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid.
Juventus announced the signing of Matthijs de Ligt, landing one of the most sought-after young players in world soccer from Ajax Amsterdam for 75 million euros ($84.39 million).
Chelsea beat Sheffield United 2-0 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.
Real Madrid defender Nacho was the unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat at Valencia this weekend and move three points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Serie A leaders Juventus suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday, with coach Maurizio Sarri returning to his former club for the first time, though Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to score for an eighth league game in a row for the visitors.
Atletico coach Simeone defends VAR for making football fairer
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is expecting a "boring" match against AS Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday, believing that both sides will adopt a cautious approach.
In a big blow to Real Madrid's title hopes, Real Betis held them to a goalless draw in their La Liga encounter on Sunday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Napoli qualified for the Champions League group stage by winning 3-0 at Bologna on Wednesday and two goals from Mario Balotelli kept AC Milan on course for the qualifying round with a 4-0 victory at Pescara.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain struck twice as the Italian side produced a masterful all-round display to beat Monaco 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Antonio Conte of Juventus has been voted coach of the 2011/12 Serie A season by his Italian peers after leading the Turin side undefeated to the title.
Resurgent Ronaldinho netted a hat-trick to help AC Milan hammer 10-man Siena 4-0 on Sunday and close the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan to six points.
