Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-2 on Sunday to put them 12 points clear at the top of Serie A. The win meant second placed Napoli had to beat third placed Roma to stand any chance of winning the league. Napoli lost to an 89th minute goal which means with three games to play it is now impossible for them to catch Juventus. The Old Lady have now secured their fifth consecutive title and their 34th Scudetto overall. However, after the start the Turin side had, this could go down as one of, if not the greatest Serie A title wins.
Five In A Row: Juventus Secure Historic Title
At the beginning of the season, Juventus had their eyes set on a fifth consecutive title and a second Quinquennio (a period of five years) in their history. The summer departures of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal were not ideal preparation but the signings of the likes of Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic gave supporters hope that another good season was ahead.
The season did not start as well as had been hoped. Three losses and two draws in their first six games indicated a tough season was ahead. By the time November came around, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were 11 points adrift of top spot and sitting in 12th position. However, a 93rd minute winner in the Turin derby sealed a 2-1 victory over rivals Torino would help set up the rest of the season, a season which even the most optimistic Juventus supporters may not have imagined.
The victory at home against Torino and some criticism that came their way seemed to spark life into The Bianconeri. Midfielder Claudio Marchisio was one of the first to try and spur on the team, “The players took on board the constructive criticism we’ve all received and that showed yesterday as we overcame some problems in a tough match against Torino. When you put on this shirt you need to give everything: here there are players who have won a lot in their careers and now we find ourselves in a different situation than in previous years, but this team was assembled to challenge for honours and that’s what we need to do.”
Taking one game at a time, the wins began coming thick and fast. 73 points were taken from a possible 75. This included a new club record of 15 consecutive Serie A victories. With the attack doing everything in its power to claim the title, the defence also took matters to a new level. Between the victory over Udinese in January to the win against Sassuolo in March, the team went ten games without conceding a Serie A goal, creating a new league record in the process. With records like these building up it was no surprise when The Bianconeri took over at the top of the table, and by the time second placed Napoli arrived at the Juventus Stadium on 20th April, a six point gap had opened up. A convincing performance resulted in a 3-0 victory and a nine point gap created with just four games remaining.
The nine point gap quickly became 12 last weekend after the victory at Fiorentina, which meant a Napoli defeat, or draw at Roma would guarantee an historic fifth consecutive title. Napoli were defeated and celebrations could begin even though three games were still left to play. Coach Massimiliano Allergri said this on learning of his sides title win, “It has been a memorable season. Everybody thought we had no chance after our bad start, when many thought the club should have sacked me. We did very well to react after that poor start, winning 24 games out of 25 is almost impossible, but we did it.”
With yet another title in the trophy cabinet, few would disagree that this team could go onto dominate Serie A for years to come, and if they can add to their already talented squad, The Old Lady could be on the verge of not just more success in Italy but also in Europe too.
Main Photo: ITALY, FLORENCE – APRIL 24: Juventus’s defender Leonardo Bonucci with Juventus’s defender Patrice Evra before the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina v Juventus FC at Franchi Stadium on April 24, 2016 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Andrea Spinelli/Corbis via Getty Images)
