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Associated Press

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri angrily denied his side are favourite to win the Champions League following a massive outlay in the transfer market.
A sixth successive Serie A title appears to be a foregone conclusion for Juventus after a summer spending spree which included signing last season’s top goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli for €90 million (HK$785m) in the most expensive transfer in Italian football history.
Great things were also expected of Juventus in Europe, but it opened up its campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Sevilla on Wednesday.
“I think Juventus has the same ambitions as last year and two years ago. No more, no less,” Allegri said after the match.

“It doesn’t mean that because we had a great transfer window we are now obliged to win the Champions League, because winning the Champions League is not easy.
“I think we have the duty to try in the Champions League and the duty to win the league, the Italian Cup and the Italian Supercup.

.@OfficialAllegri: "A game of two halves. We struggled to break out in the first, but created more after the break." pic.twitter.com/aZu91BdYv7
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) September 14, 2016

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“The Champions League is a competition where there are four or five teams which are certainly at the same level as Juventus and not a level above. This doesn’t mean that Juventus can’t try to win the Champions League.
“But everyone is talking about this Juventus. It seems that Juventus is the only favourite for the Champions League when it’s been 20 years since Juventus won the Champions League, so we need to keep our feet on the ground.”

Juventus reached the Champions League final in Allegri’s first year in charge only to lose to Barcelona, but was eliminated in the round of 16 last season by Bayern Munich.
As well as Higuain, Juventus also brought in the likes of Miralem Pjanic, Dani Alves, Medhi Benatia and Juan Cuadrado — although they sold Paul Pogba back to Manchester United for a word record fee.
Higuain, who scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of a 3-1 win over Sassuolo on Saturday, was kept quiet by a defensive-minded Sevilla at the Juventus Stadium, although he did go closest to breaking the deadlock shortly before the hour mark when he headed Alves’ cross off the crossbar.

Juventus has won their opening two matches in the league, but now trails Lyon in group H after the French side beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and needs a positive result in Croatia in two weeks’ time.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini believes Allegri’s anger following the match was directed at the media hype surrounding Juventus and not his players.
“It’s more a message to the outsiders because the players are very much aware of what we need to do,” Chiellini said.

“On the outside on the other hand there is always a lot less balance and you go from hero to zero in an instant and that’s not reality.
“We need to continue with a lot of calm, a lot of balance, a lot of humility, knowing that on Saturday we won 3-1 but we made a lot of mistakes.
“Tonight it was 0-0 but we had a better performance. We need to improve day by day because the aim is to get to March and still be fighting on all fronts.”

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Uefa Champions League

Angry Allegri: Juventus not favourite for Champions League despite splashing the cash

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. Photo: AP

Football - Soccer - Juventus v Sevilla - UEFA Champions League Group Stage - Group H - Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy - 14/09/2016. Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain reacts during the match. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino

epa05539944 Juventus's head coach Massimiliano Allegri during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Juventus FC and Sevilla FC at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, 14 September 2016. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

epa05540000 Juventus's Giorgio Chiellini (R) and Sevilla's Nicolas Pareja during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Juventus FC and Sevilla FC at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, 14 September 2016. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

epa05539939 Juventus's Dani Alves, left, and Sevilla's Pablo Sarabia, vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Juventus FC and Sevilla FC at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, 14 September 2016. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

Third time lucky: Serie A champions Juventus beat South China to claim first win in Hong Kong

Medhi Benatia chases after the ball with South China's Russell Andrew James. Photos: Reuters

Football Soccer - Juventus v South China - International Challenge Cup - Hong Kong, China - 30/7/16 - Juventus player Paulo Dybala (2nd L) in action with South China's Wisdom Fofo Agbo (2nd R). REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The heat is on: fans urged to support exhibition match between Juventus and South China

Juventus players cool off in searing heat during training at Hong Kong Stadium on Friday. Photos: Jonathan Wong

Striker Paulo Dybala in action at the Juventus training session for the AET International Challenge Cup Hong Kong 2016, at Hong Kong Stadium. 29JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Striker Paulo Dybala (R) in action at the Juventus training session for the AET International Challenge Cup Hong Kong 2016, at Hong Kong Stadium. 29JUL16 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Juventus are coming to Hong Kong - but opponents South China are worried top stars may miss trip

Juventus celebrated a fifth successive Italian league title last month. Photo: AFP

epa05322311 Juventus' goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon celebrates with supporters after winning the Italian Cup final soccer match Milan vs Juventus at Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 21 May 2016. EPA/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI

epa05322143 Juventus' supporters cheer during the Italian Cup final soccer match Milan vs Juventus at Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 21 May 2016. EPA/ANGELO CARCONI

Sport

Football

The Italian champions opened their continental campaign with a goalless draw at home to Sevilla on Wednesday
