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Rome : Juventus' Andrea Barzagli clears the ball as Roma's Edin Dzeko looks on, during a Serie A soccer match between Roma and Juventus, at the Rome Olympic stadium, Sunday, May 13, 2018.AP/PTI(AP5_14_2018_000015B)[/caption]
Rome, May 14 (IANS): Juventus became the first team to win seven consecutive Serie A titles and a record-extending 34th time in all after a 0-0 draw against AS Roma here, even as second-placed Napoli defeated Sampdoria 2-0 in Naples in the penultimate round on Sunday.
Following the draw at the Stadio Olimpico, Juventus have 92 points from 37 games. Napoli have 88 points from 37 games as they took three points for their win over Sampdoria, thanks to second-half goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Raul Albiol at the San Paolo.
Even before the kick-off in the capital, Juventus, though mathematically had not secured the title, but they were there practically, having a better goal difference of 15 against Napoli. Both had defeated each other with the margin of 1-0 in their away games.
Hence, if the Turin powerhouse had failed to win their remaining fixtures and Napoli managed to win theirs, it would have boiled down to goal difference where Juventus were superior.
However, Roma and Juventus played a rather intense match, although neither squad managed to create solid goal-scoring opportunities in a fairly equal first half where the defence was where the action developed, reports Efe.
Juventus' advantage became more evident after the 68th minute, when Roma found themselves a man short after two yellow cards were shown to Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, the second on a hard foul against Argentina forward Paulo Dybala.
In the final minutes, Juventus easily controlled the game's rhythm against a Roma that seemed to have lost their aggressiveness and, after two minutes of extra time, they were able to celebrate their seventh consecutive league title.
It was their fourth league title under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri, who also becomes the first coach in Europe's four leagues to win four consecutive domestic doubles of league and Cup titles. Juventus had thrashed AC Milan on Wednesday in Rome to win the Copa Italia final.
Third-placed Roma, who had already secured a place in next season's UEFA Champions League, have 74 points.
The fourth and final Champions League spot will be decided in the next round when Lazio face Inter Milan. Lazio have 72 points, while Inter have 69 points.
Meanwhile, Atalanta held AC Milan to a 1-1 draw, threatening the latter's hopes of finishing Italian league play in a Europa League position.
With this draw, Milan have 61 points and remain in sixth place, which secures them a berth in the next edition of the Europa League, while Atalanta are just one point behind Milan in seventh position.
