Juventus have officially retained the Scudetto for a fifth-consecutive season.
The Bianconeri won 2-1 at Fiorentina last night, meaning that Napoli had to beat Roma to keep the title race going for another week.
However, the Partenopei fell to late defeat at Stadio Olimpico, handing the Scudetto to Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Click here for a match report.
Juventus have officially retained the Scudetto for a fifth-consecutive season.
The Bianconeri won 2-1 at Fiorentina last night, meaning that Napoli had to beat Roma to keep the title race going for another week.
However, the Partenopei fell to late defeat at Stadio Olimpico, handing the Scudetto to Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Click here for a match report.
The Turin giants have now won Serie A for the fifth year in a row, equalling their own record from the 1930s, when they lifted the title every year between 1931 and 1935.
Il Grande Torino also won five in a row in the 1940s, a streak which would almost certainly have been more were it not for a two-year suspension of Serie A for World War II.
The team was tragically killed in a plane crash at Superga just before their fifth triumph, and were never able to go for a sixth.
Inter also won five Scudetti between 2006 and 2010, but the first of those remains controversial, as it was awarded to the Nerazzurri after the Calciopoli scandal.
Originally, Roberto Mancini’s side had finished in third-place, 15 points behind Juventus and trailing Milan by 12.
This season’s triumph by Juventus is made all the more remarkable by the fact that Allegri’s side endured a disastrous start to the campaign.
The Bianconeri won just one of their opening six Serie A games – none of their first three, their one point being the worst return since 1962 – and a defeat to Sassuolo on October 28 left them 12th in the table, 11 points from the top.
After public criticism from captain Gianluigi Buffon and veteran Patrice Evra, however, that match proved to be a turning point in the season.
Since that result, Juve have won 24 of their next 25 Serie A games, with the only points dropped being a 0-0 at Bologna.
Simone Zaza’s late deflected winner against Napoli in Week 25 allowed the Old Lady to go clear at the top for the first time this season, and a stuttering end of season from the Partenopei saw a nine-point gap open up.
With the defeat today, the gap is now 12 points at the top, with only nine points left to be played for, mathematically sealing the title for Juve.
Max Allegri has already targeted the Champions League for next season, while a sixth-consecutive Scudetto would set a new record.