Juventus won a fifth consecutive Serie A title after Napoli failed to beat Roma on Monday.

Napoli had to claim all three points at the Stadio Olimpico to keep their slim hopes of catching Juve alive but were defeated 1-0 by third-placed Roma as Radja Nainggolan struck a late winner.

Juventus have officially won 32 Scudettos, and two more league titles were later revoked following a referee scandal.

Massimiliano Allegri's side last lost on Oct. 28, when a 1-0 defeat to Sassuolo left them 11th in the table, but they have since taken 73 points from a possible 75 to move clear at the top.

Following the Sassuolo result, the Old Lady had 12 points from 10 games and were 11 points off the summit.

Defender Leonardo Bonucci, who has been with the club for all five championship seasons, said the slow start made this title even more special.

"It's been a crazy season given everything that has happened," Bonucci told Mediaset. "They wrote us off as dead in October, but they forgot that we carry the Juventus Scudetto on our chest.

"We had to change course, the Juventus of the first few months was too bad to be the real one. Credit should be given to the coach, who allowed us to think about every game without anxiety.

"No one expected Juventus to win the Scudetto in April. This will go down in history for the way it came and because it's the fifth."

Juventus watched the game at their Vinovo training centre on Monday and later came outside to celebrate with fans at the gates.

The title was the first for Juventus' leading scorer Paulo Dubala, who joined the club from Palermo last summer.

"The result made us celebrate. I am very happy today, because entering into the history books with Juventus is priceless to me," Dybala told Mediaset Premium.

"I am so happy with what we achieved today and I hope it is the first of many trophies for me here. We must continue like this and not let off the pace."

Juventus lost in the Champions League to Bayern Munich in the round of 16, but they are also looking to defend the Coppa Italia in the final against AC Milan on May 21.

"We did really well to come back -- to be 12 points clear with three games to go is huge," Allegri said. "Juve have done something amazing. Now we've got three games to honour before the Coppa Italia final.

"This is the first brick, considering we're a young squad, on the way to winning the Champions League, which has got to be our objective for next season. Juve had a great Champions League campaign this year, but we can still get better.

"We need a bit of luck, but we've created some solid foundations."

This is the fourth time a team have won five straight Scudettos. Juventus previously accomplished the feat from 1931-36, while Torino were champions from 1943-49 and Inter Milan from 2006-2010.

Among Europe's top five leagues, only Real Madrid in Spain (1960-65 and 1985-90) and Lyon in France (2001-08) have also won at least five league titles in a row.

Juventus can celebrate the title in front of their home fans against Carpi on Sunday.

"This is the best one because this season has really been crazy and incredible,'' Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "It shows the technical and moral strength of the team, and the desire not to give up and continue surprising."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by ESPN staff

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]