5 things we learned in Serie A this weekend

Milan - Injury woes are piling up for Juventus, and striker Gonzalo Higuain is looking unhappy especially after Diego Simeone's son Giovanni, a fellow Argentine, hit a brace in a shock 3-1 win over the champion.

The Serie A title race is back on for Roma, AC Milan, and Lazio, though Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini says his high-flyer can't do a Leicester and upset the Italian league elite.

Here are five things we learned from Serie A:

Juve's injury woes a real concern

Injuries are piling up at Juventus as the Turin giant chases glory at home and Europe, and coach Massimiliano Allegri learned the hard way that a makeshift side of expensively assembled players is no match for a well-oiled and determined Genoa.

By the end of a 3-1 defeat that gave hope to several of Juve's title challengers, notably AC Milan and Roma - both now just four points adrift - Dani Alves (fractured shin) and defender Leonardo Bonucci (thigh knock) joined a casualty list already featuring forwards Paulo Dybala and Marko Pjaca and defenders Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.

Alves could be out for several months after suffering a fractured shin bone, while Bonucci - a transfer target of Premier League giant Chelsea - is expected to return in a matter of days or weeks.

Injury-ravaged Juventus hosts a surprisingly on-form Atalanta next week knowing another slip-up could see Milan and Roma, if they win beat Crotone and Lazio, close to within a point.

Higuain not looking happy

It was the summer's most dramatic summer transfer, but Higuain's move north to Juventus - for an Italian record of €90 million - after hitting a Serie A record of 36 goals for Napoli last season has turned sour of late.

Higuain started the season strongly, but - after hitting his seventh league goal, a second-half winner in a 2-1 defeat of Napoli, last month - he has spent the past three league games on the bench with a muscle problem.

Injuries up front, notably to fellow Argentine Dybala, have left Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri scurrying for solutions and Higuain, feted by the whole of Naples on his way to his record-breaking season last time out, looked anything but happy when he was practically forced off the bench by Allegri on Sunday as it sought to claw back a three-goal, first-half deficit.

The Argentine did little to remedy the situation before Miralem Pjanic hit a great free-kick eight minutes from time that was scant consolation for the Turin giant.

Higuain is already five goals behind the league-leading tally of Roma's Edin Dzeko, who hit a brace in a 3-2 win over Pescara.

Like father, like son for Simeone

Giovanni Simeone's dad was a tenacious, two-way midfielder who won a league and Cup double with Atletico Madrid in 1996, helped Inter Milan to the UEFA Cup (1998), and Lazio to the Serie A title (2000). He also famously lured David Beckham into a sending-off for a petulant, retaliatory kick after fouling the England star during the 1998 World Cup in France.

In addition, Simeone scored the winner for Lazio in a 1-0 win over Juventus in April 2000 that helped the capital club to only its second league title after it finished that season one point ahead of the Old Lady. On Sunday, his 21-year-old son Giovanni followed suit, hitting a first-half brace to help give Genoa a 3-0 half-time lead before the host sealed a remarkable 3-1 win at the Luigi Ferraris stadium. It, too, could prove decisive in the title race.

Juve loses, and title race resumes

After seeing Juve win five consecutive titles, fans of calcio these days look nonplussed when asked who will step up to challenge the Turin giant. The mood could change this week after Juve's shock defeat left Roma and AC Milan just four points adrift in second and third places, with Lazio - unbeaten since a 2-0 reverse at AC Milan over two months and 10 games ago - only one point further off the pace in fourth.

If the stars align, all three teams are capable of maintaining a challenge, and Juve's injury worries are unlikely to elicit any sympathy.

No Leicester, but Gasperini has Atalanta magic touch

While Milan, Roma and Lazio A bare their teeth to Juventus, little Atalanta is watching tamely but happily from the sidelines.

Coach Gasperini says there's no way the Bergamo side can copy English champion Leicester by shocking its way to the title: "I don't think so, in Italy it's much too difficult."

But that didn't stop hundreds of fans from braving cold temperatures to welcome the team bus back from a 2-0 win at Bologna, its sixth victory in succession, on Sunday night. Atalanta is fifth and just five points behind Juventus ahead of its trip to face the champion in Turin next week.