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4 things we learned in Serie A this weekend

MAX ROSSI / Reuters

Milan - Teams go the extra mile to beat Juventus and although Roma's title challenge is strong, the club's ability to finish in front of goal is lacking.

Here are five things we learned in Serie A at the weekend:

Teams work harder to beat Juventus

Juventus' status as the undisputed king of the Italian domestic game - the Bianconeri have 32 Serie A titles, compared to AC Milan's 18 - means they are loved and hated in equal measure. And rival teams always work harder to beat them, confirmed both Massimiliano Allegri and Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa after Fiorentina, 2-1 winner in Florence after goals from Nikola Kalinic and Milan Badelj, became only the fourth team to beat the five-time consecutive champion this season after Inter Milan, AC Milan and Genoa. "Teams usually play the games of their lives against us, they give it more than 100 percent," complained Juve coach Allegri.

Dzeko misses spot-kick, coach demands new players

A penalty miss by Roma striker Edin Dzeko turned out not to be costly as the Serie A title challenger edged Udinese 1-0 to close to within one point of Juventus. But the close call didn't stop coach Luciano Spalletti calling the Bosnian "too soft", or using the occasion to launch a veiled call for new players. "We'll see the extent of the problem in February, amid a 40-day spell in which we'll be playing 11-12 games. If you don't have enough players, you're in trouble. If you don't have the exact number to be able to rest players, you're in trouble. When you have a number of injured and suspended players in these periods, you might not even have 11 players," said Spalletti.

Europe, not China the target for Icardi

Amid a growing exodus of top players to China's super-rich Premier League, Argentine Mauro Icardi isn't convinced. If he leaves Inter Milan to head east, it will be an end-of-career choice: "I've just renewed my contract, I'm happy to be in the Inter Milan jersey. As for China, there's always time at the end of my career." A number of top players, including Chelsea's Brazil playmaker Oscar and former Juventus striker Carlos Tevez are set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel, who will pocket €72 million euros in salary at Tianjin Quanjian after signing a four-year deal from Zenit Saint Petersburg last month. Icardi, who hit the opener for Inter in a 3-1 win over Chievo that stretched his goals lead to 15 at the top of the Serie A charts, is determined to take Inter back to Europe and is linked with Inter until 2021 after joining the Nerazzurri from Sampdoria in 2013.

Berardi return a bonus for Sassuolo

The absence of influential forward Domenico Berardi coincided with Sassuolo's steady slide towards the bottom of Serie A, so coach Eusebio Di Francesco is delighted by his return, and the immediate benefits. "It was hard to be without him for four months," Di Francesco told Radio Rai after Berardi provided two assists in a 4-1 win over Palermo on his first start since August. Berardi only returned to action from a strained cruciate knee ligament during a 20-minute appearance last week as Torino held the Neroverdi to a scoreless draw in Reggio Emilia, their third draw in a 19-game spell peppered with 11 defeats. Once described by former AC Milan, Italy and Real Madrid coach Arrigo Sacchi as "a modern-day forward with heaps of talent", Berardi was back to his usual best on Sunday, and assisted Alessandro Matri and Antonino Ragusa's goals.

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