With Serie A on its traditional winter break, the players are taking some much-needed time off. There are no matches scheduled until January 7, meaning the Juventus squad have all headed home, enjoying the chance to visit families before returning to action in the new year.
Before that they were in Qatar on Friday, losing to AC Milan on penalties in the Supercoppa Italiana. As that game approached, Massimiliano Allegri was clearly aware of the difficulty in retaining focus over this period, as the Juve boss explained to reporters at his pre-match press conference:
Our preparations are going well, even if it should be noted that it’s never easy going into the final match before the Christmas break.