TEAMWORK: Juventus’ coach Antonio Conte (4-R) celebrates with his players after the Italian Serie A match against AS Roma at the Olimpico stadium in Rome yesterday. (EPA)
DPA/Rome
Newly crowned champion Juventus beat Roma 1-0 yesterday with a last-minute goal and set a new points record for Serie A.
Pablo Osvaldo’s stoppage-time winner ensured Juventus moved to 99 points, beating Inter Milan’s record. Antonio Conte’s team can become the first Serie A club to reach the 100-point mark when it plays Cagliari at Juventus Stadium, where it has won all 17 of its matches this season.
The Turin side, who clinched a third straight title with three games left, moved on 99 points from 37 games, improving a record set by Inter Milan in 2007. Roma trail on 85 and secured direct access to the Champions League.
At Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, captain Francesco Totti and Radja Nainggolan fired high for Roma before a Gervinho break was blocked on 39 by Marco Storari, who kept goal as star Gianluigi Buffon rested on the bench.
Juve threatened with a Fernando Llorente effort and saw Paul Pogba fire a taut drive against the far post on 44.
Storari was again crucial for the champions with two close saves on efforts from Nainggolan and substitute Alessandro Florenzi, but in injury time Osvaldo found the net against his former club off a Stephan Lichtsteiner feed.
“We showed that we are strong and a great team because the game was not easy,” Pogba said. “We played against a very strong team, but we got the result and we are happy.
“The 100-point tally was not a goal; the goal was the title, but now we can try to go past the 100 points.”
Earlier in the day Franco Brienza scored with the last kick of the game, a superb 25-metre strike, to give Atalanta a shock 2-1 win at home to AC Milan yesterday and pile more pressure on the losing side’s beleaguered coach Clarence Seedorf.
Mario Balotelli twice hit the woodwork, once in each half, for Milan in a match which was marred when a banana was thrown onto the pitch by the home fans, landing near Milan’s Guinean fullback Kevin Constant.
Catania, playing for more than an hour with 10 men, earned a heroic 2-1 win at Bologna but both teams were relegated, and Livorno followed them into Serie B after losing 1-0 at home to Fiorentina.
Catania’s relegation, after eight seasons in the top flight, came one-season after they finished eighth, equalling their best-ever performance.
Serie A debutants Sassuolo completed their great escape by beating Genoa 4-2 with two goals in the last four minutes and Chievo also guaranteed survival with one match to spare by beating Cagliari 1-0 away.
Napoli, who have already clinched third place, won 5-2 at Sampdoria, leaving the hosts to face a roasting from their fiery coach Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Seedorf’s future at Milan has been the subject of widespread speculation amid reports that club president Silvio Berlusconi has lost faith with the Dutchman despite a considerable improvement in results since he took over in January.
“I am giving my all, so my conscience is clear. I am concentrated on the final game,” Seedorf told Sky Sport Italia, praising his players for continuing with the match after the banana-throwing incident.
Milan took the lead with a fortuitous goal early in the second half when Sulley Muntari’s cross was turned into his own net by Gianpaolo Bellini.
Argentine forward German Denis levelled from a penalty in the 68th minute after a clumsy challenge by Constant on Carlos Carmona and Brienza stunned Milan with his long-range effort in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Milan, joint eighth alongside Verona, need to finish sixth to qualify for the Europa League and their lingering hopes were kept alive after Torino were held 1-1 at home by Parma.
Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile put Torino ahead just before halftime with his 22nd goal of the championship, although he was sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.
Jonathan Biabiany levelled for Parma in the 71st minute.
Torino have 56 points with Parma on 55 and Milan and Verona one point behind with one match each to play.
At the bottom, Sassuolo’s win left them 16th in the 20-team table with 34 points followed by Chievo (33), Catania and Bologna (29) and Livorno (25). Catania went ahead at Bologna when Fabian Monzon’s free kick went through the defensive wall in the 22nd minute, but they had Gino Peruzzi sent off for a second yellow card just before the half hour.
Archimede Morleo volleyed Bologna level in the 79th minute only for Gonzalo Bergessio to score an 84th minute winner for the visitors, but it was all in vain.
Sassuolo were twice pegged back at home to Genoa before Nicola Sansone rifled home a volley in the 86th minute which took a deflection off Sime Vrsaljko and Antonio Floro Flores completed the win with his second goal of the match.
