Juventus must challenge for both the Champions League and Serie A crowns this coming season after recruiting Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria.
That is according to Juve and Italy great Gianluca Zambrotta, who also told Stats Perform he expects Inter to be a stronger force with Romelu Lukaku back at the club.
Juve confirmed the signing of former Paris Saint-Germain forward Di Maria on Friday, with fellow free agent Pogba also set to join following his departure from Manchester United.
Pogba knows the Turin giants well having already spent four seasons at the Allianz Stadium, winning the Scudetto in each of those and making 178 appearances in total.
Fellow former United player Di Maria is playing in Italy for the first time, meanwhile, with this the Argentina international's sixth different club in as many countries.
And having brought in players boasting plenty of pedigree, Zambrotta says challenging for Serie A alone – after back-to-back fourth-place finishes – will not be enough for Juve.
"Juventus will certainly have to play a different championship because they must return to be competitive not only in Italy but also in Europe," he said.
"And they have to do that right away and not just a little bit because they cannot think to wait any more."
Pogba and Di Maria join a squad already boasting the likes of January recruit Dusan Vlahovic and winger Federico Chiesa, who is closing in on a return from a long-term lay-off.
That will be a welcome headache for Massimiliano Allegri, while fierce rivals Inter must also find a way to slot Lukaku back into the side following his return on loan from Chelsea.
"Juve could play with Di Maria on one side, Chiesa on the other side and Vlahovic in the middle," said 2006 World Cup winner Zambrotta, who spent seven years with Juve.
"It is clear that it becomes an important attack, very, very technical and very dynamic on the wings.
"At Inter, Lukaku is a player who [Simone] Inzaghi did not want to leave anyway, then he left but Inter did very well anyway.
"So he is a player who certainly can be important for Inter and that the coach clearly values, and he will certainly do well paired with Lautaro Martinez.
"Then there are many attackers who are possibly leaving. Nobody knows who will come out and who will arrive again. But Lukaku and Martinez are already well tested."
Tuchel bemoans lack of focus as Bayern slump to final-day defeat
Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with his team's lack of focus following their 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Bayern threw away a two-goal lead, condemning them to a third-place finish behind unbeaten Bayern Leverkusen and Stuttgart
After failing to win the Bundesliga title for a 12th consecutive season, Tuchel's side will also go without domestic or European silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
"We started really well, but then we had a string of individual mistakes," Tuchel said in a short press conference.
The coach is leaving Bayern after just over a year in charge after the club announced his departure in February. There had been talks to potentially reverse that decision last week, but no agreement was reached.
"In the second half we played well for 15 minutes, but then it was again a series of individual mistakes and loss of possession," Tuchel said. "We gave away a two-goal lead for a completely unnecessary and bitter defeat."
Despite a string of injury absences, Bayern were 2-0 up by the sixth minute but Hoffenheim scored four times, including an Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in the second half to turn the game around.
"It happens far too often, like that. It happened in Stuttgart where we conceded two late goals [for a 3-1 defeat]. In Heidenheim, the same [for a 3-2 loss]. Here the same. It just happens too often," Tuchel added.
"I have an explanation for that, but it is not for the public."
Bayern's Aleksandar Pavlovic, who is part of Germany's preliminary Euro 2024 squad, went off injured early in the match and will undergo further tests.
"He twisted his ankle. We will have to wait and see what the checks show," Tuchel said.
Man City will come back fighting after WSL title loss - Taylor
Gareth Taylor says that Manchester City will "come back fighting" after losing out on the Women’s Super League title on the final day.
City beat Aston Villa 2-1 thanks to goals from Mary Fowler and Lauren Hemp on Saturday, but ultimately fell just short, missing out to Chelsea on goal difference.
Emma Hayes led the Blues to a fifth consecutive WSL title with a 6-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford, having made up their inferior goal difference with an equally impressive 8-0 win over Bristol City two weeks ago.
Taylor has reflected on a "mix of emotions" after narrowly missing out on being champions.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, he said: "I feel really proud of the team's performance. The mad thing is we could have maybe scored double figures today quite easily. That's the difference.
"To win 18 games in the season and still come up short is not easy but we have. It's been a big push from the team, we've worked incredibly hard, and we'll come back fighting."
When asked what lessons City can take from this season, Taylor added: "We need to improve in all areas. We have to have potentially better options from the sidelines. I think that's really key.
"I'm so enthusiastic about the way we played today. A lot of the stuff we did was really good. That's what inspires me to get up in the morning and fight for next season's title."
Goalkeeper Khiara Keating became the youngest-ever Golden Glove winner in her breakout season, as the 19-year-old kept nine clean sheets in 22 league games and conceded just 15 goals in total.
While disappointed about Saturday’s outcome, Keating looked back on the highlights of her season.
She said: "Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted to go out and win a trophy today. We knew what we had to do, and we didn't quite get it done.
"Hopefully next season in the Champions League we can show what we're about and go and win some trophies.
"From a personal point of view, my breakout season had a lot to prove at the start of the season, everyone was kind of.. Not doubting but wondering what I'd be like. I hope I've shown everyone what I can do.
"Gaz [Taylor] put his faith in me to go and play how I play and that is what I needed to go out there and do what I did this season."
Swiatek seals Italian Open hat-trick after soaring past Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title following a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world number one took just under an hour-and-a-half to deny the world number two, and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair were contesting a second final in as many events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka was the last player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, that coming at last year's Madrid Open.
Although, the second seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Data debrief
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
In fact, at 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).
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