Juventus claim eighth Serie A title

MILAN: Cristiano Ronaldo said he was “1,000 percent committed to staying” with Juventus next season as he claimed his first Serie A title and Juventus their eighth in a row on Saturday.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side had needed just one more point for a 35th Scudetto and their latest title triumph helped ease some of the pain of their shock Champions League exit at the Juventus Stadium to Ajax on Tuesday.

A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Fiorentina was enough to give them a 20-point lead on nearest rivals Napoli with five games to play.

Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic put Fiorentina ahead after less than six minutes.

But Alex Sandro’s diving header on 37 minutes and an own goal from Fiorentina defender German Pezzella after a Ronaldo cross in the 53rd minute sealed another title to ease their European disappointment. It was the 34-year-old’s sixth domestic league title, having won three with Manchester United and two with Real Madrid, as he becomes the first player to win the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.

Juventus purchased the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for 100 million euros ($112 million) last summer.

He has scored 19 goals and had six assists, and is in the running for the top-scorer award along with Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella, who has 22 goals, and AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek on 21. Juventus have lost only two matches, against Genoa and SPAL, with 28 wins and three draws.

Their eight straight title sees them overtake French club Lyon for the record of consecutive victories in the top five European leagues.

The day was a double celebration as Juventus’ women’s team won their second straight league title since being founded in 2017. He has six in total, having also won with AC Milan, one behind Giovanni Trapattoni, who has seven.

Juventus also equalled the record for the earliest the Italian title has been won, with five games to spare, achieved by Torino in 1948, Fiorentina in 1956 and Inter Milan in 2007.

The battle for European football next season remains tight with just four points separating AC Milan in fourth and Lazio in eighth.

AC Milan were held 1-1 at Parma, with Roma, in fifth, missing a chance to move up after a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan.

Substitute Samu Castillejo had put Milan ahead after 69 minutes in Emilia-Romagna but Bruno Alves grabbed a point three minutes from time.

A Stephan El Shaarawy stunner put Roma ahead after 14 minutes at the San Siro only for Ivan Perisic to level for Inter after 61 minutes. Inter are third six points behind Napoli who host Atalanta, in sixth, on Monday.