Juventus seals fourth consecutive Serie A title

Juventus wrapped up their fourth straight Serie A title after a routine 1-0 win over Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

The Old Lady had been 14 points clear of their nearest rivals Lazio ahead of the game and made sure of the Scudetto thanks to Arturo Vidal's goal.

Vidal was able to head in off the post from a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross on 32 minutes, continuing the Chilean's good run of form for Juventus.

It means the pressure now shifts to Juventus' Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid, with coach Massimiliano Allegri having rested some players for Saturday's match against Sampdoria.

It could have proven tricky with hosts Sampdoria themselves chasing a Europa League spot, but Juventus duly clinched their title, rekindling memories of their success in the 1930s when the Bianconeri won five straight league titles. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3065491/Juventus-storm-fourth-consecutive-Serie-title-victory-following-win-Sampdoria.html#ixzz3Z7GSuVIm 

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Hellas Verona scored a come from behind win over Udinese 2-1

Udinese 1-2 Hellas Verona

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos inspired Hellas Verona to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Udinese on Sunday as they ended a three-match losing run in Serie A.

Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale put the hosts ahead in the 31st minute before Christodoulopoulos set up Luca Toni for the equaliser before half-time.

The Greece international then put Hellas in front for good with his first goal of the season two minutes after the restart.

The Verona outfit held on for their fourth league win of the campaign, their first since October 4.

The outcome, Udinese's second loss at home this season, lifted Hellas to 13th place, five points clear of the drop zone.

Udinese, meanwhile, remain eighth but could fall further down the table if Fiorentina beat Cesena later on Sunday.

Christodoulopoulos sent an early warning when he forced Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis to fully stretch to clear his 20-yard bullet strike.

Hellas produced a good chance to break the deadlock in the 26th minute but Toni's close-range header from Emil Hallfredsson's cross went wide.

At the other end, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu drilled a right-footed shot from outside the area that forced Hellas goalkeeper Francesco Benussi to fully stretch to clear.

Udinese went in front in the 31st minute when Di Natale got past his marker and headed Bruno Fernandes' cross past a helpless Benussi.

Hellas reacted and got back on level terms on the stroke of half-time when Christodoulopoulos. spotted Toni in the box and his left-footed shot towards the near post beat Karnezis.

The visitors picked up where they left off after the restart and were.rewarded when Christodoulopoulos. burst into the Udinese penalty area and unleashed a right-footed shot to beat Karnezis.

Udinese wasted a good chance to pull level before the hour but Giovanni Pasquale's dangerous cross failed to find a team-mate in the box.

The home side continued to press forward and were almost successful four minutes from time.

However, Benussi made sure his team took all three points when he made a vital save from Silvan Widmer's close-range effort.

Nainggolan goal wins it for Roma over Genoa

Nainggolan, the hero for Garcia's men 

The Belgium international scored the only goal of the game to help his side to a crucial away victory as they capitalised on Juventus' draw earlier on Sunday

Roma recorded a vital 1-0 win over Genoa in Sunday's Serie A encounter at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Adem Ljajic missed a spot kick at the half-hour mark, but Radja Nainggolan did open the scoring shortly before the half-time whistle to help Roma to the full three points. 

The visitors survived a late scare as the hosts had an injury-time equaliser ruled out for offside, meaning Rudi Garcia's men took full advantage of Juventus' draw against Sampdoria.

The guests started the match the better side of the two and came close to breaking the deadlock after 17 minutes of play when Gervinho was denied by Mattia Perin, before Miralem Pjanic blasted the rebound into a defender.

Genoa were dealt a huge blow at the half-hour mark, however, when the referee awarded Roma a penalty and sent off Perin after the goalkeeper fouled Nainggolan. Ljajic stepped up to take it, but substitute Eugenio Lamanna saved the Serbian attacker's attempt.

Garcia's men did go 1-0 up in the 40th minute. Maicon sent in a dangerous cross from the right andNainggolan did well to find the net with an acrobatic volley.

Alessandro Matri tested Morgan De Sanctis in the dying seconds of the first half, but he failed to really trouble the Roma goalkeeper. 

Pjanic tried his luck early in the second half, yet the midfielder aimed too high and the chance went begging. Gervinho then nearly doubled Roma's lead in the 72nd minute after being set up by Davide Astori, only to see his shot go just wide.

Genoa threatened shortly after via Diego Perotti after the Argentine picked up a loose ball, but the winger's shot went over the crossbar.

The guests kept on pushing for a second goal and Pjanic came close to making it two in the closing stages of the game. The midfielder received a pass from Jose Holebas before unleashing a powerful effort, but his shot went just wide.

The home side thought to have levelled the scoring well into stoppage time, but Tomas Rincon's goal was disallowed for offside.

Roma remain second in Serie A following this weekend's results, but have closed the gap with leaders Juventus to one point. Genoa, meanwhile, sit fifth in the table.

Floro Flores scores late goal as Sasoulo make Torino pay their miss 1-0

Torino 0-1 Sassuolo: Floro Flores Floors Misfiring Granata

Torino were made to pay for a missed first half penalty when they fell to a late 1-0 loss at home to Sassuolo that sees the Neroverdi jump into the top half.

A terrible spot kick from Juan Sanchez Mino looked like it would only be punished with the home side dropping two points but a late header from substitute Antonio Floro Floresstunned the hosts.

The home side were bright in the early going but, being the second most goal-shy team in the division, struggled to create much in the way of significant openings with their first chance not arriving until the 15-minute mark.

It was down to the intelligence of the outstanding Matteo Darmian, a constant thorn in the side of Sassuolo down the left, cut the ball back for Omar El Kaddouri whose stinging drive was a little too close to Andrea Consigli and he punched clear.

However, for a team who struggle to hit the back of the net, they were given the perfect opportunity to do so on 28 minutes. Bruno Peres drove into the area and down to the byline before cutting the ball back for Fabio Quagliarella who was dragged to the ground by Fabio Cannavaro as he looked to make something happen and Nicola Rizzoli pointed to the penalty spot.

Sanchez Mino, yet to score since his summer arrival from Boca Juniors, looked to make himself a fan favourite when he stepped up to take it but he joined Marcelo Larrondo and El Kaddouri on the infamous list of players to have missed a penalty for the Granata this season when his tame effort was easily kept out by Consigli.

Quite why Quagliarella himself, having won the kick and scored twice from the spot in the Europa League this season, did not take the kick will be a question many fans inside the Olimpico will have been asking.

Domenico Berardi, after a quiet first half, blasted one at goal that Jean-Francois Gillet managed to keep out in a somewhat unconvincing manner as both sides probed for the goal that could potentially lift them out of the bottom half.

Simone Zaza was next to try with an ambitious long range effort moments later than the Belgian goalkeeper collected much more comfortably on this occasion.

The home side remained threatening sporadically as the half wore on and Peres was guilty of being too selfless when he raced in on goal and tried to square it for Quagliarella, allowing Sime Vrsaljko to get back and block.

With half an hour remaining, the Neroverdi missed the chance they had been waiting on as Toro once again lost possession, letting Berardi in on goal. His shot was cleared off the line by Nikola Maksimovic but only into the path of the incoming Zaza who snatched at his chance with no goalkeeper in sight and blasted wide.

Quagliarella was denied at the other end following a superb run and pass from El Kaddouri as the game began to open up while Gillet denied Nicola Sansone as you began to get the sense a goal was on the horizon.

That proved to be the case with four minutes of normal time left when Floro Flores rose highest in a crowded penalty box to thump home a header from a right flank cross as his side extended their unbeaten run to six games.

Giancarlo Gonzales saves the day for Palermo against Cesena 2-1

Palermo 2-1 Cesena

Palermo picked up their first win back in Serie A to ease the pressure on their coach Giuseppe Iachini, although they left it late to beat 10-man Cesena 2-1.

Pauli Dybala put the Rosaneri in front after 33 minutes, but substitute Alejandro Rodriguez levelled from the penalty spot on the hour mark.

Manuel Coppola was given his marching orders for a second yellow card with 10 minutes to go and Cesena were unable to hold on to a point as Costa Rica defender Giancarlo Gonzalez headed in Palermo's winner in the second minute of stoppage time.

Dybala showed his threat early on with a free-kick which he curled onto the top of the crossbar and it was no surprise that he put the Sicilian side in front with a powerful shot on the turn in the 33rd minute, beating Nicola Leali.

Dybala continued to keep the Cesena defence busy, leading to their coach Pierpaolo Bisoli making a bold change early in the second half with Rodriguez brought on to replace defender Gabriele Perico.

Within minutes, Rodriguez came close to bringing an attack-minded Cesena level but Stefano Sorrentino denied him, giving away a corner.

From the cross into the area, a foul was spotted among a group of players by the referee, who awarded the visitors a penalty.

Rodriguez beat Sorrentino from the spot to bring Cesena level.

Franco Vazquez hit the post minutes later with Leali well beaten before Coppola picked up his second yellow card, having already been warned a few times by the referee.

Not only did Cesena have 10 minutes of normal time to survive, they also had to hold firm for the three minutes of stoppage time - but the latter proved too difficult for them.

It was Dybala who sent in a corner from the right which Gonzalez rose to meet with a header from five yards out, beating Leali and sending the Stadio Renzo Barbera wild with joy at Palermo's first win of the season.

Cagliari came from behind to draw with Sampdoria

Cagliari 2-2 Sampdoria

Cagliari came from two goals behind to grab a point against Sampdoria, who ended the game with only 10 men.

Manolo Gabbiadini and Pedro Obiang had Sampdoria on course for their fifth win of the season, but a red card to Fabrizio Cacciatore and a penalty just shy of the hour mark proved to be the turning point in the game.

Danilo Avelar converted from the spot before Marco Sau earned Zdenek Zeman's men a point.

In spite of the perhaps controversial way in which Cagliari got back into the game, they were worthy of the point if only for the performance of Victor Ibarbo.

The Colombian giant proved to be a constant thorn in the side of the Samp defenders, heading just wide in the 26th minute.

Minutes later, Gabbiadini met Angelo Palombo's chipped free-kick with his outstretched leg to turn the ball past Michael Agazzi and put Samp in front against the run of play.

Obiang then doubled their lead, holding off his marker before shooting to the right of Agazzi from just over 20 yards out.

Zeman clearly found some harsh words for his team during the interval as the lethargic Cagliari side from the first half made way for a more passionate one in the second.

They might have had no chance to recover had Gabbiadini's effort gone in rather than hit the post in the 50th minute, but they were given a helping hand seven minutes later when Ibarbo burst into the penalty area and went to ground.

Cacciatore appeared to have made contact with the ball but the tackle was from behind and the referee pointed to the spot, producing a second yellow card for the Samp defender.

Avelar lifted his spot-kick high into the top right-hand corner to give the Sardinians hope.

Francesco Pisano had a shot saved well by Sergio Romero, in goal for the injured Emiliano Viviano, as Cagliari launched attack after attack, finding an equaliser in the 77th minute when Sau shifted Avelar's pass onto his right foot before sweeping the ball low past Romero.

Cagliari had a late goal disallowed for a foul as Samp just managed to hold on to a point.

Sassuolo held Juventus 1-1

Juve held to draw by Sassuolo

Modena, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Juventus dropped points for the first time in Serie A this season on Saturday as the club was held to a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo, which entered the day on the bottom of the table.

Simone Zaza, who is on loan at Sassuolo from Juve, scored against his parent club in the 13th minute, while the Old Lady answered back six minutes later through Paul Pogba.

The visitors created the better chances over the remainder of the match, but Sassuolo held on for the draw, leaving Juve one point clear of second-place Roma.

Leonardo Bonucci thought he had given Juve an early lead when he turned a header past Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, but the goal was ruled out for offsides.

And just a few minutes later the hosts grabbed the lead when Zaza had his initial shot blocked by Bonucci and scored on the rebound.

Pogba had Juve back on level terms six minutes later when he scored from the edge of the penalty area after Carlos Tevez cut the ball back for the France international.

But Consigli stood tall in the Sassuolo goal, denying efforts from Pogba, Tevez and Stephan Lichtsteiner before the break.

Domenico Berardi threatened for the hosts after halftime, but his free kick sailed narrowly past the left post.

Roma was able to make the most of Juve's draw by notching a 3-0 win over Chievo on Saturday.

The capital club scored all three goals in the first 33 minutes with Mattia Destro, Adem Ljajic and then Francesco Totti finding the net for Roma.

Roma beat Chievo 3-0

Roma cruised to a 3-0 victory over Chievo Verona in Serie A on Saturday to ensure it goes into its Champions League clash against Bayern Munich full of confidence.

Goals from Mattia Destro, Adem Ljajic and a Francesco Totti penalty saw Roma bounce straight back from their controversial 3-2 defeat to Juventusa fortnight ago to keep up the pressure on the Bianconeri at the top of the table.\

Perhaps equally important was the confidence boost victory gave Rudi Garcia's men ahead of their tough encounter with Bundesliga leaders Bayern on Tuesday night.

The Germans hammered Werder Bremen 6-0 in the Bundesliga earlier on Saturday.

Garcia resisted the temptation to rotate his side and fielded 38-year-old forward Totti from the start, opting not to rest the Italian ahead of Tuesday's clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

Totti was involved a lot in the early action as Roma wasted no time attacking the visitors' defence, taking the lead within five minutes when Destro headed in from a corner.

Totti and Ljajic were combining well and it was the Roma captain who set up the latter to double the hosts' lead in the 25th minute.

It was then the turn of Totti, who became the Champions League's oldest goalscorer when he netted against Manchester City, to find the net yet again from the penalty spot.

Dario Dainelli was accused of fouling Daniele De Rossi inside the area and Totti stepped up to beat Francesco Bardi from the spot. Totti went close to making it four early in the second half, with Bardi making a good block at his near post, before Garcia decided the time was right to start resting players.

Totti was first to leave the field, with Miralem Pjanic taken off soon after, but the substitutions did not affect Roma, who continued to look the more dangerous side.

Destro nearly beat Bardi before Ashley Cole was beaten to the rebound, depriving him of a good chance to score for the Giallorossi.

Late Bonucci goal gives Juventus a massive win over Roma in a highly explosive game 3-2

Bonucci saves Juve in bad-tempered win over Roma

Turin (Italy) (AFP) - Leonardo Bonucci struck at the death as Juventus claimed the bragging rights from a bad-tempered 3-2 win over Roma that saw three expulsions and at least one dubious penalty in Turin on Sunday.

Garcia said midweek the top-of-the-table clash would be a "great advert" for Italian football.Roma coach Rudi Garcia was sent off in the first half, while Juve striker Alvaro Morata and Roma defender Konstantinos Manolas saw red in the closing minutes after the match's final, angry exchange.

And there was no lack of drama at a packed-out Juventus stadium as Roma, despite their first defeat of the season, further underlined their status as the biggest challengers to Juve's three-year grip on the Italian championship.

"It was a crazy match," admitted Juve 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who refused to be drawn on the controversy surrounding three penalty awards which shone the spotlight on match referee Gianluca Rocchi and left Roma icon Francesco Totti claiming Juve already had the title sewn up.

"Credit to Roma, they showed they are a very strong side. But the result doesn't reveal anything as regards the league title. It's far too early yet."

Juve midfield great Andrea Pirlo returned for his first match of the season following his recovery from injury, with Garcia preferring Greek defender Jose Holebas to Ashley Cole at left back.

The match turned in the 26th minute when Juve were awarded a freekick following Totti's foul on Pirlo, whose subsequent freekick hit the arm of Maicon in the defensive wall.After seeing an early chance expertly blocked by Seydou Keita, Carlos Tevez scored the first of a brace of penalties just before the half hour.

Players from both sides immediately surrounded referee Rocchi, who wavered before giving in to Juve's demands for a penalty.

Moments later, Tevez stepped up to beat Lukasz Skorupski to give the champions a 27th-minute lead.

To rub salt into Roma wounds, Garcia was sent off for dissent after playing an imaginary violin.

The Frenchman later said the match was a good example of why football should adopt video replays, but he admitted Roma were to blame for their first defeat of the campaign.

"We've dropped our first points of the season, so now we have to pick ourselves for our next game.""The first people to blame are ourselves, we had chances we didn't put away," said Garcia.

Five minutes after Juve had taken the lead, Rocchi awarded Roma a spot-kick after Totti was brought down in the box by Stephan Lichsteiner, despite being nowhere near the ball.

Totti stepped up to send Buffon the wrong way to level on 32 minutes.

The goals set in motion a series of dubious challenges, but Juventus Stadium was stunned into silence when Gervinho ran into the area and laied off a sublime angled pass for Juan Iturbe to run in and slide the ball past Buffon.

Roma's joy was short-lived, however. When Paul Pogba tried to gallop into the Roma area on the stroke of half-time, he fell under a soft challenge from Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

Despite television pictures showing the challenge to be just outside the area, Rocchi pointed to the penalty spot and Tevez stepped up to beat Skorupski for the second time.

For Totti, the decision raised an age-old belief that Juventus routinely benefit from favourable refereeing decisions.

"Juventus should have a championship of their own because they always manage to win," Totti told Sky television.

He pressed home the point when it was stressed Roma would be Juve's biggest challengers this season.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter because we'll still finish second. All three of Juve's goals were invalid."

Pirlo made way for Arturo Vidal with 11 minutes remaining, but as the hosts pressed Juve's salvation came when Roma's defence failed to deal with a corner which fell to Bonucci on the edge of the area.

The Italy defender smacked a volley through a crowded defence and past the outstretched Skorupski to give Juve an 86th-minute lead, although at least two Juventus players looked offside.

The match ended on an ugly note when Manolas was victim of a tough sliding tackle by Morata, prompting the intervention of Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, practically both sets of players and forcing the expulsion of the players involved.

Udinese wins over Lazio, climbs to 3rd spot in Serie A

Thereau scores lone goal to lead Udinese over Lazio; move into third in Serie A

ROME - Udinese moved into third place in the Serie A with a 1-0 win at Lazio on Thursday.

Forward Cyril Thereau scored in the 26th minute for the visitors, slotting in from the centre of the area between two defenders at the Stadio Olimpico.

The victory placed Udinese within three points of Italian leaders Juventus and Roma, who won their fourth consecutive matches on Wednesday.

Lazio is 15th.

Still seeking his first goal of the season, veteran Miroslav Klose was a constant threat for Lazio but couldn't find the target.

Also, a free kick from Lazio midfielder Antonio Candreva went wide in the 73rd.

Udinese began with its top scorer Antonio Di Natale on the bench although he went on in the 65th when Thereau exited with a muscle problem.

Former Inter Milan manager Andrea Stramaccioni is in his first season with Udinese and has so far guided the club to three wins and one loss.

Udinese is owned by the Pozzo family, which also controls Watford in England and Granada in Spain. The club's best finishes in the Serie A were second in 1955 and third in 1998 and 2012.

Pjanic late free kick lifts Roma over Parma 2-1

Parma 1-2 Roma: Pjanic Late Show Wins It For Giallorossi

Roma beat Parma 2-1 on Wedenesday evening at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Serie A.

Adem Ljajic’s first half strike for the Lupi was cancelled out by Paolo De Ceglie’s header before Miralem Pjanicscored a late free-kick to seal three points for Rudi Garcia’s men.

The Giallorossi started the more positive and Antonio Mirante in the Parma goal had to be alert to field a couple of early deliveries from Greek left-back Jose Holebas.

Garcia’s side controlled the majority of possession in the opening twenty minutes but the Crociati made life difficult for their opponents by getting numbers behind the ball and as a result neither goalkeeper was tested during this period.

After threatening on a couple of occasions with swift counter attacks, Roma eventually opened the scoring on 27 minutes when Felipe and Cristiano Lucarelli switched off defensively allowing Ljajic enough space to latch onto a Francesco Totti through ball and finish past Mirante.

The first half continued in the same vein with Roberto Donadoni’s men camped in their own half and Roma attempting to pick their way through the numbers to force a second goal.

As it turned out, they were unable to do so and with Parma offering little attacking threat the scoreline remained 1-0 until half time.

Donadoni’s half time instructions appeared to be to press Roma further up the pitch and this allowed his side to be more ambitious going forward in the early stages of the second half.

Ten minutes into the half a long range effort from Antonio Cassano was pushed wide by Morgan De Sanctis and from the resulting corner De Ceglie capitalised on some slack marking to head home an equaliser.

The Ducali persisted with a slightly more open style of play and were almost caught out on 63 minutes when Gervinho broke forward at pace and played a square ball to an on-rushing Totti who fired a left-footed shot narrowly over the bar.

Parma reverted to a more cautious approach as the half wore on and the visitors were finding it difficult against their defensive organisation.

Alessandro Florenzi was introduced as a substitute and almost broke through on goal in the 80th minute but for an excellent last-ditch tackle by Felipe.

A short time later Felipe gave away a free-kick just outside his own penalty area for a foul on substitute Destro and with 88 minutes gone Pjanic stepped up to curl the ball beautifully into the top corner of Mirante’s goal and give his side the lead.

The final minutes of the game were played out and Roma held on for a 2-1 victory which, on the balance of play, was just about deserved.

Carlos Teves scores as Juventus outlasts AC Milan 1-0

AC Milan v Juventus

Carlos Tevez netted the only goal of the game in the 71st minute as former Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri got the better of the man whose playing career he effectively ended two years ago while in charge of the Rossoneri - Filippo Inzaghi.

Fernando Torres came on for his Milan debut late in the second half, but he could not help the club avoid dropping their first points of the season as Juve, Serie A winners for the past three seasons, moved three points clear at the top.

Inzaghi went to shake Allegri's hand prior to kick-off, but there was no such cordiality shown on the field with the tackles flying in.

One man keeping his cool was Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra, who had the first shot of the game after five minutes, but just missed the goal to the right.

At the other end, Keisuke Honda was first to test Gianluigi Buffon, who responded with a one-handed save, before Pereyra set up Llorente, who touched the ball past Sulley Muntari but could not beat Christian Abbiati inside his near post.

Pereyra's 25-yard effort was pushed wide by Abbiati before Leonardo Bonucci, perhaps believing he was offside, headed Claudio Marchisio's header over when he had time to take the ball down.

The closest either side came to scoring in the first half was when Marchisio let rip from outside the area and his shot struck the right-hand upright.

The Bianconeri were just edging it, with Marchisio again going close on the hour mark from a training ground corner before two touches of class finally saw the deadlock broken.

Paul Pogba provided the first to lift the ball delicately through to Tevez, who sold Abbiati the dummy before finishing past the Milan goalkeeper, and producing a real dummy to celebrate with a dedication to his youngest child.

It was time for Fernando Torres to make his entrance for the Rossoneri, but the on-loan Chelsea forward was unable to change the game.

Milan ended with four forwards after Giampaolo Pazzini was sent on by Inzaghi, who could not avoid his first defeat as Milan coach.