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Juventus lose ground on Inter with Frosinone draw

Time is running out for Juventus to regain their winning formula. The Turin giants have won four titles on the trot. But a fifth consecutive crown is looking increasingly unlikely as they dropped two more points with a stalemate against Serie A newcomers Frosinone.

Juventus coach Massimo Allegri said his players needed to stop making costly mistakes during their games.
Juventus coach Massimo Allegri said his players needed to stop making costly mistakes during their games. Reuters/Giorgio Perottino
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Juventus's disastrous start to the Serie A season continued on Wednesday night with a 1-1 draw against bottom of the table Frosinone.

The champions have secured only five points from their first five games and are already 10 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan. The San Siro outfit maintained their 100 per cent record with a 1-0 victory over Verona. The veteran Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo struck the winner just after the pause.

For Juventus Simone Zaza was also on target early in the second half. But the champions failed to capitalise on the breakthrough despite monopolising possession of the ball. They were made to pay the price for their lack of incisiveness when Leonardo Blanchard headed in the equaliser in stoppage time.

It was Frosinone's first point in Serie A.

Following the stalemate Juventus coach Massimo Allegri warned his team that time was running out for them if they wanted to retain their title.

"We have to grow as a team by winning games, not by making costly mistakes," said the 48-year-old. "We need to work and improve to bring this squad up to a certain level. We have to develop, otherwise we'll become a team that can beat everybody but also be beaten by everybody."

Last season Allegri, who took over from Antonio Conte, led Juventus to their fourth consecutive Serie A title, the Coppa Italia and the Uefa Champions League final.

But following those success, the side lost the veteran midfield fox Andrea Pirlo as well as the rumbustuous strikers Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez. New players such as the former Fiorentina and Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado have been drafted in. Allegri said his new side would required time to gel.

But his patience appears to be cracking. "I'm disappointed for the team," he said. "But right now we're not developing the way we should be."

Alessandra Bocci, a football writer at the Gazetta dello Sport in Milan told RFI that Juve's travails are due to complacency.

"When you get used to winning for many years, you think it's going to go on for ever and of course that's not the case," she said. "Juve have to come back and understand that they can win the league title again but not in the same way as before. They need to refind their motivation."

Frosinone's coach Roberto Stellone admitted his side had been lucky to emerge from the Juventus Stadium with a draw.

"When they changed tactics halfway through, they put us in trouble," he told Sky Sport Italia. "They were winning all the duels. But we tried to hang on, we put another forward up front to try and boost our chances on the counterattack.

"The positive thing is we believed right up till the end. We battled, and held on for our first, historic point. I'm not going to say I'm even more happy because I'm an ex-Torino player, I'm more happy for the team."

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