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MILAN, Italy -- New Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri kicked off his time in charge with a victory as his team won 1-0 at Chievo Verona in the Serie A opener on Saturday. Roma, last years runner-up, won 2-0 at home to Fiorentina, with Radja Nainggolan and Gervinho scoring. Juventus showed that little has changed from the spirit which drove it to three consecutive league titles as Martin Caceres helped open the scoring in the sixth minute. Caceres headed Carlos Tevezs corner toward goal, although it eventually went in off the back of Cristiano Biraghi. Juventus had several chances to extend its advantage and hit the woodwork three times in the first half. "There are good signs, Im happy enough," Allegri said. "But there is a lot to improve. I was more worried than angry at the end. We should have closed the match and instead we risked them equalizing." Roma got off to a record Serie A start of 10 straight wins last season, before faltering as the campaign wore on. It once again looks set to push Juventus all the way. "Were strong and were not going to hide it," Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. "This year for the first time I say that we can aim for the title. But aiming for it is different to making it seem very easy." Allegri was hired by Juventus last month, replacing Antonio Conte, who resigned -- and later became Italy coach. For his first competitive match in charge Allegri was without the injured Andrea Pirlo, Alvaro Morata and Andrea Barzagli while Giorgio Chiellini was suspended. Fernando Llorente and Sebastian Giovinco had been suffering from flu and were only fit for the bench, which meant that Kingsley Coman started and the 18-year-old impressed on his debut. Juventus began brightly and Tevez, who had been left far too much space inside the penalty area, drilled narrowly wide of the left post inside the opening minute. After taking an early lead it had several chances to double its advantage but Claudio Marchisio lifted Paul Pogbas deft pass over the bar. Vidal, who had been the subject of intense transfer speculation in the off-season, had an effort cleared off the line before then heading the resulting corner off the right post. "It was important for us to win today, we have a long season ahead and need to be ready to battle every weekend," Allegri said. "Now we have the international break to hopefully get at least one of so many absentees back." Chievo was struggling and its best opportunity came in the 25th minute as Valter Birsa raced down the left flank before centring for Ezequiel Schelotto, whose effort flew well wide of the left post. Juventus hit the woodwork again shortly before halftime when Tevez fired Stephan Lichtsteiners cross off the bar. From the resulting corner, Caceres also hit the bar. Coman almost capped a brilliant performance with a goal seconds after halftime, but his curled effort from just outside the penalty area scraped the outside of the right post. Juventus was nearly made to rue its wasted opportunities when goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was forced into a fantastic save at point-blank range to deny Maxi Lopez. In the capital, Roma was also struggling with injuries so Kostas Manolas -- who only joined last week -- was thrown straight into the back four along with fellow new signings Ashley Cole and Davide Astori. The attacking pace of Gervinho and Juan Manuel Iturbe caused Fiorentina no end of problems. Roma took the lead in a move started and finished by Nainggolan. He threaded the ball through to Gervinho and was on hand to smash the rebound into the bottom right corner after his teammates effort had been parried by Fiorentina goalkeeper Norberto Neto. Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella responded by immediately taking off Australia international Joshua Brillante, who had given the ball away in the buildup. Gervinho should have extended Romas lead early in the second half following a swift counterattack but, after a fantastic run, the Ivory Coast striker saw his shot smothered when he might have done better to square it to unmarked teammate Miralem Pjanic. Moments later Gervinho also had an effort blocked by Neto. Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis had had little to do all match but kept his team in the lead shortly after the hour mark when he tipped Josip Ilicics free kick onto the crossbar before pulling off another great save to deny Khouma Babacar. Gervinho sealed the result in stoppage time, beating the offside trap to race onto Nainggolans through ball, before rounding Neto and firing across into the back of the net. Ottawa Senators Jerseys . 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However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. Bobby Ryan Jersey . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events.SANTA CLARA, Calif. - San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke is committed to supporting linebacker Aldon Smith like a family member in the wake of his latest legal trouble — and keeping Smith around for the long haul, too. "You continue to work as you would with any family member, you continue to work until they leave you no choice," Baalke said Friday in his annual sitdown with media leading up to the draft. "Does character matter? It does." Baalke repeatedly referenced the word "disappointed" during his 59-minute session when discussing a recent list of off-the-field problems for his 49ers, who lost in the NFC championship game to eventual Super Bowl winner Seattle. Regarding a May 3 deadline whether to exercise Smiths 2015 contract option, Baalke gave all indications he hopes to have the menacing pass rusher in a Niners uniform well into the future. Baalke said for 2015, "and 16, and 17 and 18." Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police say the 24-year-old NFL star was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became unco-operative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. The district attorney has referred the case for misdemeanour consideration. Baalke said Smith is "growing, starting to understand, starting to realize the importance of his own accountability." Yet this follows Smiths five-game absence last season to undergo treatment after his September DUI arrest. In November, Smith pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home. Investigators say several shots were fired, two partygoers were injured and Smith was stabbed. In the subsequent investigation, prosecutors say detectives found five unregistered, illegal weapons in Smiths house, including two Bushmaster rifles and an Armalite AR-10T. When it comes to how to best deal with Smith going forward, Baalke said thats going to be a process. "Thats still being discussed internally," Baalke said. "Everything factors in, you take a look at everything. The one word I can use to describe the situation is disappointing. The important thing is that its equally as disappointing to Aldon. "Like all of us, you have the keys to your own car. You make decisions and you live with the consequences of those decisions. Life is a growing process, its a growing process for all of us. He knows what needs to bbe done.dddddddddddd Were all accountable. Each and every one of us in this organization is accountable." The 49ers also still hope to reach agreement on a long-term extension with quarterback Colin Kaepernick before the start of training camp. Baalke said the team would let the investigation play out regarding Kaepernick being linked to a Miami police report earlier this month involving a woman who passed out in a hotel and later woke up in a hospital not knowing how she got there. Kaepernick has strongly denied any wrongdoing via Twitter. "Any time an individual puts himself in a situation that becomes newsworthy, we certainly pay attention to it," Baalke said. "To say theres no concern, that would probably be a misrepresentation of the facts. At the same time, lets let this thing play out and lets see where it goes." In addition, cornerback Chris Culliver — who became famous for the wrong reasons when he made anti-gay remarks before the Super Bowl in February 2013 — has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanour hit-and-run charges and felony possession of brass knuckles from a March 28 arrest. "Are we disappointed weve had a string? Absolutely," Baalke said. "One is too many. So if ones too many, then five or six is way too many. This isnt something we take lightly. We expect a lot from our football players. We expect a lot from ourselves." He said he is sorry a few players have hurt the reputation of the entire roster and organization. "Im adamant in my thoughts that this is a good group of men. Have they made some mistakes? Absolutely they have," Baalke said. "Im not going to sit up here and defend them. There is concern. We hold ourselves to a high standard. The community deserves that. We represent the community." Baalke also addressed his working relationship with coach Jim Harbaugh: "To say its always two rams butting heads is so false and misleading. To say theres no tension would also probably be false and misleading, but its good tension." Notes: Baalke said he hasnt heard from LaMichael James or his representatives to formally request a trade, but knows the RB said on Twitter he could benefit from a change. Baalkes understanding is James isnt at the voluntary off-season program because of a new baby at home. ... LG Mike Iupati is out of a walking boot for his broken left leg suffered in the NFC title game. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ' ' '