Juventus's fabulous run of form in 2012 showed no signs of letting as the Old Lady took their unbeaten form of last season into the new campaign.
Antonio Conte added a host of new players in preparation for a return to the Champions League. Sebastian Giovinco moved back to Turin permanently, while Paul Pogba, Kwadwo Asamoah and Mauricio Isla all signed up during the summer.
Juve edged out Chelsea and made safe progress to the last 16 while building an eight-point lead in Serie A to cap a flawless start to the season for the reigning champions.
Here, Sports Mole look at how Juve maintained their stranglehold on the Italian game and restored their reputation on the continent.
August
Juve won an early piece of silverware in the season's curtain raiser, beating Napoli 4-2 to lift the SuperCoppa trophy in Beijing.
The Old Lady's title defence began with a routine 2-0 success at home to Parma, with Andrea Pirlo scoring a stunning free kick to seal the win.
September
A pair of tricky away trips yielded maximum points as Juve maintained their 100% start deep into September.
Giovinco bagged a brace in a 4-1 win over Udinese before a rampant display against Udinese produced a 3-1 victory.
Fabio Quagliarella was at the double to see off Chievo but Juve's winning run came to an end with a goalless draw at Fiorentina.
A trip to Stamford Bridged marked the start of the Champions League for the Old Lady, who returned in style with a spirited comeback against Chelsea. Juve roared back from two goals down to claim a point against the holders with goals from Aruto Vidal and Quagliarella.
October
A frustrating home draw against the dangerous Shakhtar Donetsk kicked off Ocotber for Juve, before a late winner from Claudio Marchisio secured another league win at Siena's expense.
Napoli came to the Juve arena a week later for a top-of-the table clash which was settled by two goals in three minutes from Paul Pogba and Martin Caceres.
Late goals became a consistent theme for Juve in the next few matches. First Vidal struck in Catania before an injury-time winner from Pogba got the Old Lady over the line at home to Bologna.
Mirko Vucinic was also on hand to spare Juve's blushes in Europe, netting a late equaliser against Nordsjaelland to make it three consecutive draws in the Champions League.
November
Juve's run of unbeaten league games was halted at 49 by Inter Milan as a Diego Milito brace did the damage in a 3-1 defeat.
The Champions League provided a welcome distraction three days later as Nordsjallend incurred the wrath of a rampant Juve, who ran out 4-0 winners.
Quagliarella scored a hat-trick as the champions returned to winning ways in Serie A with an emphatic 6-1 win over Pescara.
A stalemate against Lazio by a crucial 3-0 victory over Chelsea, which left the Blues on the brink of a group-stage exit.
The Red and Black half of Milan repeated Inter's trick as Juve finished November as it had begun, losing in the San Siro courtesy of a Robinho penalty.
December
Four successive wins saw Juve soar clear at the top of Serie A, while Champions League qualification was also secured in a December to remember.
A 3-0 triumph in the Turin derby set the tone before victory away to Shakhtar ensured that the Old Lady topped a tricky Group E.
Narrow wins against Palermo and Cagliari sandwiched a comfortable 3-0 cruise past Atalanta to help put Juve in a commanding position heading into the winter break.
Liam Power
