Juventus' road to victory

After a spectacular turnaround in fortunes for Milan after their worst-ever start to a Serie A campaign, the Rossoneri were expected to take the fight to Juve in Turin as they continued to grapple for the coveted runners-up spot which gives direct access to the Champions League. For entertainment value, the match left a lot to be desired but that mattered little to Juventus' coaching staff and players. The joy on their faces following a precious 1-0 win, thanks to Arturo Vidal's second-half penalty, suggested that all the hard work had been done on 21/04/13. Conte claimed afterwards the title was not secure yet, but with an 11-point lead and the Scudetto only theirs to lose in the remaining five games, most pundits agreed the 43-year-old Juve coach was simply being polite. (AFP Photo)

Nearly five months after suffering a humiliating 3-1 reverse to Inter Milan in Turin -- a defeat which signalled the end of an unbeaten league run stretching back to May 2011 -- Juve took revenge at the San Siro as the Nerazzurri continued their slide from title challengers to struggling to secure a place in Europe next season. Juventus began with the front pairing of Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri, and despite both players enjoying only sporadic spells this season it proved an inspired decision by Antonio Conte with Quagliarella hitting a first-half screamer and Matri putting the visitors ahead on the hour after Rodrigo Palacio had levelled for Inter on 30/03/13. Juve moved 12 points clear of Napoli, who would go on to reduce the gap to nine after their 5-3 win over Torino. (AFP Photo)

With AC Milan struggling following a mass exodus of players and Edinson Cavani on fine form for Napoli, it became clear early in the season that Walter Mazzarri's visitors would be among Juve's few challengers for the Scudetto. Despite Conte still watching proceedings from the hospitality box, Juve -- unbeaten throughout the entire previous season -- bossed Napoli throughout a fairly one-sided game to claim a deserved 2-0 win. Cavani was unlucky in the first half when he shook post and crossbar with a superb freekick, but it was fellow Uruguayan, Jose Caceres, who broke the deadlock with a header on 80 minutes. French teenager Paul Pogba, signed on a free transfer from Manchester United, added Juve's second, his first for the club, two minutes later on 20/10/12. (AFP Photo)

After wins against Genoa, Chievo and a scoreless draw away to Fiorentina, Juventus hosted Roma only days after Giallorossi coach Zdenek Zeman, an outspoken critic of Juventus and their alleged recourse to banned substances in the 1990s, commented on a book by former Serie A player Matias Almeyda which revived memories of that controversial period in Juve's history. There was pre-match talk of how Juve would avenge Zeman's slight, and goals from Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Alessandro Matri and former Parma striker Sebastian Giovinco sent Juve three points clear of Napoli on 29/09/12. (AFP Photo)

Despite undergoing few major changes to their squad in the summer, Juventus tackled their first match of the campaign without coach Antonio Conte after he was suspended for four months due to his alleged links to a match-fixing affair while at Siena. After a sluggish start in their season-opener, the champions allayed the fears of Bianconeri fans by grinding out a 2-0 win over Parma in Turin. After Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal missed a first-half penalty, Swiss wing-back Stephan Lichsteiner opened Juve's goals account and veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo scored a second to put Juventus top of the table on the first day of the season on 25/08/12. (AFP Photo)