A slow and steady decline: Juventus aren't Juventus since Cristiano Ronaldo arrived

Although the Serie A table showed that just one point separated Inter and the Bianconeri, the feeling in Italy was different. In reality, they had wrapped the title up early enough that they could afford to switch off in the final few rounds.

Maurizio Sarri was sacked and replaced by Andrea Pirlo, just over a week after he had been given his first-ever coaching job with the club's Under-23 squad. So far, it hasn't all been smooth sailing for the former midfielder, and his Juventus sit third in the table, behind both Inter and AC Milan, and their stranglehold on the Scudetto looks more likely than ever to end this season.

This newfound competition at the top of Serie A could be put down to the improvement of other sides. Milan, Inter, Atalanta, and Lazio have undoubtedly strengthened in the last couple of seasons, but Juventus have been in steady decline.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 2018 arrival was supposed to catapult them to even higher highs. They had won seven Serie A titles on the bounce, but fallen short in the Champions League and twice lost out in the final.

If anything, though, the Portuguese has hamstrung them. They've won both Serie A titles since he joined, but they've become less of a force in Europe, and even in other domestic competitions.
Beyond his astronomical salary, Juventus' style has gone from being focused on the collective to revolving around their No.7.

No individual player was ever bigger than Juventus, even outstanding talents like Paul Pogba, Carlos Tevez, Paulo Dybala, and Pirlo himself. Now, the Old Lady resemble one of Italy's more provincial teams, doing all they can to feed their big name to get him on the scoresheet.

Their reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo has become worrying, and until Federico Chiesa's late strike in the recent 2-1 loss at Porto, no player other than the Portuguese had scored a Champions League knockout goal in the six games played since his arrival in 2018.

From boasting a star-studded midfield with Pogba, Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal, it could be argued that Milan, Inter, Atalanta, and Lazio now all have more strength in their midfields.

Juventus' dominance of Italian football looks to be ending, at least temporarily. But their struggles this season aren't a great surprise, and the signs of decline have been there for more than a year.