Juventus trail AC Milan by seven points: The end of an era?

Juventus, who have won nine Serie A titles in a row, are in serious trouble as they trail AC Milan by seven points, Inter by six, and they are level with Napoli and Roma.

Here we take a look at why a tenth consecutive Scudetto is currently looking like it might be beyond Andrea Pirlo's side.

Sloppy finishing

Despite having a decent goalscoring record, with 25 goals from 13 games, Juve aren't as clinical as they used to be in the key moments, and, surprisingly, Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the chief offenders.

Defensive errors

The defence, led by Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt, is proving far leakier than you would expect from these players. The latter still failing to justify his hefty price tag, while the former is making mistakes that belie his experience.

Cristiano isn't enough

The Old Lady have become too reliant on Cristiano. Increasingly it seems that if he doesn't score the team suffers, and if he's not playing then even more so.

Pirlo not convincing

The doubts that began to emerge about the first-time coach about a month ago have not been dispelled. The excuse back then about missing Cristiano holds no water now that his top goalscorer has returned.

Dybala still to find his place

The Argentine forward has faded out the picture at Juve, having only featured in eight matches this season. It seems he isn't convincing Pirlo enough to give him a bigger role, particularly in the big games, such as in Tuesday's loss to Fiorentina where an in-form Paulo Dybala could have been of real use.

Milan pulling away

Unbeaten Milan have a clear and consistent style that is winning them matches, and their growing confidence is yet another sign that this year Juventus are no longer untouchable.