Juventus started February with a 2-1 win away to Chievo with veteran goalkeeper Gigi Buffon happy to see the back of January.
Five points from four matches, an Italian Cup ko from Lazio and a disappointing transfer window dampened the confidence of the Turin side who had gone into the new year with an eight point lead at the top of Serie A.
Andre Pirlo returned to action yesterday with first half goals from Alessandro Matri and Stefan Lichtsteiner giving Juve full points against Chievo to maintain their three point lead over Napoli at the top of Serie A.
“It was a bit of a difficult time in January for us because we were not in our best form,” Buffon admitted. “It all went wrong for us and we were a little bit complacent too.
“Now we are in a real battle for the Scudetto and the opponents are there for us so we are not just challenging our own records.
“This does make it more exciting and more motivating knowing that you cannot get anything wrong because everything is still up for grabs and we will welcome rivals for the title.”
Looking at the challenge coming from Napoli he added: “In six games, they have five wins and a draw and a victory over Parma in the last minutes so they obviously have belief in themselves.
“They are a good unit who have been playing together for many years and have everything it takes to win the Scudetto.”
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