Paul Pogba says not being top of the Serie A standings is like a "slap in the face" for Juventus, who can move to the summit for the first time this season on Saturday.
Juve host league leaders Napoli this weekend with just two points separating the sides at the top of the Serie A table.
The Azzurri beat the Bianconeri 2-1 in the reverse fixture -- at a time when both sides were struggling in the wrong half of the table -- and although they have both recovered since, Pogba says it still hurts Juventus not to be on top of the pile.
"We're not first and it's a bit of a slap in the face for us, isn't it?" Pogba told Sky Sport Italia. "We're not used to it."
Juve are on a 14-game winning streak while Napoli have won their last eight, with both sides now pulling clear at the top and both on course for automatic group stage berths in next season's Champions League.
However, finishing as champions is the priority, with Pogba avoiding comments about the Napoli encounter as he sets his sights on the bigger picture -- a fifth-straight Scudetto.
"You add everything up at the end of the season," he said. "We're not top now, but we're not going to let that get to us. We want to be top at the end of the season, that is when it matters.
"I never doubted that we would have a great season. We've returned to being the great Juve and we certainly don't intend to stop now. We had a complicated start to the season, but we told ourselves that we had to step up to the plate and we did that, getting back to playing at our usual levels.
"I never thought that Juve were dead."