Mancini: Juventus crisis worse than expected

Inter coach Roberto Mancini has admitted that Juventus’ underwhelming start to the season has caught him by surprise, even though he did expect them to endure some difficulties after losing a number of key players.

Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez all left Juventus Stadium ahead of the 2015-16 campaign after playing key roles in their success last term and the Turin giants have struggled to cope with their departure.

The reigning Serie A champions have collected just five points from their opening six fixtures and currently sit 15th in the Serie A table, trailing leaders Fiorentina and Inter by 10 points.

“I did not expect Juventus to have such a bad start,” Mancini told Il Messaggero.

“Of course, it was to be expected that they would have a difficult start after losing key men such as Pirlo, Tevez and Vidal. You know that would have its effect, but I did not expect this.

“But Juventus remain Scudetto contenders for me once they get back on track, together with Roma and Napoli.

“Our goal remains to finish in the top three and return to the Champions League.

“The Scudetto? We cannot rule anything out…”