MILAN // Juventus secured a fourth successive Serie A crown, and their first under coach Massimiliano Allegri, with four games to spare by winning 1-0 at Sampdoria last night.
Arturo Vidal headed in the only goal from Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross in the 32nd minute to put Juve 17 points clear of second-placed Lazio, who have five matches to play. It was their 31st league title triumph, making them Italy’s most successful domestic team by far.
Lazio travel to relegation-threatened Atalanta today with only 15 points available to them from their remaining five games.
The win headlined a dominant season by Juve, who have led since the fourth matchday except for one week.
They have lost three times in 34 games and are on course for the treble, having reached the Uefa Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid and the Coppa Italia final.
Allegri had previously won Serie A with AC Milan in 2011 but was sacked by them halfway through last season. His appointment by Juve in July, replacing Antonio Conte, who won the three previous titles, was greeted by protests from the fans, but he quickly won them over.
“It’s amazing how great this title feels because we started in the middle of chaos, in the middle of a goodbye that could have hurt us,” defender Leonardo Bonucci said. “But instead we got straight to work to help the new coach Allegri, and now we’ve obtained our first of three goals.”
It was a pragmatic display by Juve who, needing a draw to clinch the title, rested playmaker Andrea Pirlo and took their foot off the pedal in the second half.
“You never get tired of winning. The older you get the more titles satisfy you, because they could be the last titles you win,” Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon said.
“The thought of Real Madrid has pulsed around the place for some days now, so it’s inevitable that while the joy is there for having closed the league, we need to be ready for this match so that we don’t regret anything.”
Beating Madrid would set this season out from the previous three title-winning campaigns, in which they underwhelmed in Europe, and would be further vindication for Allegri.
“My first few days here were good. I think I only had five or six players and we lost a friendly 3-2,” he joked.
“On Tuesday we need to have the same attitude but be even better than today, because we’ll have in front of us a team of amazing players to which you can’t concede anything.
“The important thing will be going out onto the pitch knowing what we need to do against a team that can hurt you at any moment.”
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