Juve sets record with 6th straight Serie A crown
Print Edition
JUVENTUS clinched a record sixth straight Italian Serie A title with a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Crotone in the penultimate round yesterday.
Mario Mandzukic gave Juventus the lead 12 minutes in by redirecting a cross from Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala scored with a free kick shortly before the break and Alex Sandro headed another near the end.
Juventus moved four points clear of second-placed AS Roma, which last Sunday handed the Bianconeri their first Serie A loss since January.
Since Serie A was founded in 1929, no club had previously won more than five straight titles.
Torino won five consecutive titles from 1943-49 (including a season that was canceled due to World War II), Inter Milan took five straight from 2006-10 and Juventus claimed a handful from 1931-35.
“We’ve written one of the greatest pages in the book of football history,” said Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, who also won the 2002 and 2003 Serie A titles with Juventus.
“Winning is never easy,” Buffon added. “Beyond what people say, staying at the top is synonymous with sacrifice on everyone’s part. ... If you want to always win matches, you’ve got to always have your head in focus and your legs prepared.”
It’s the second title in five days for Juventus after a 2-0 win over Lazio in the Italian Cup final last Wednesday.
The Bianconeri has a chance to complete the treble with victory over Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo in the UEFA Champions League final on June 3.
Juventus also added to its record number of Serie A titles, with its 33rd.
Players dumped shaving cream over the head of manager Massimiliano Allegri at the final whistle, then put on celebratory T-shirts with a ‘6’ on them.
Crotone remained third from the bottom, one point behind Empoli in the battle to avoid being the final club relegated.
Empoli was beaten 0-1 at home by Atalanta, with Alejandro “Papu” Gomez scoring early.
Genoa removed itself from the relegation chances with a 2-1 win over Torino, getting goals from Luca Rigoni and Giovanni Simeone — the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone — before Adem Ljajic pulled one back for Torino.
In the final round, Crotone hosts fourth-placed Lazio and Empoli visits already relegated Palermo.
Last-placed Pescara, which has also already been relegated, hosts Palermo today to conclude the penultimate round.
AC Milan ended a run of three seasons without European play by beating Bologna 3-0 to secure sixth place and a spot in the Europa League playoffs.
Lazio was taking on Inter Milan in the late match.
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