After a saving goal by Cristiano Ronaldo, record champion Juventus has secured the Italian championship for the ninth time in a row. The team around the five-time world footballer made the 36th Scudetto in club history perfect with a 2-0 (1-0) on Sunday evening in the home game against Sampdoria Genoa. Ronaldo scored 1-0 before half time.
With 83 points, Turin, who started without the recently injured former international Sami Khedira, can no longer be pushed out of place two games before the end of the Serie A season. The Inter Milan table is seven points behind.
Juventus was harmless in the first half despite optical superiority, then Ronaldo hit the last action after a free kick variant. A pass from Miralem Pjanic used the 35-year-old from the penalty area directly with a low shot (45. + 7). Against the now more offensive guests Ronaldo was also involved in the 2-0 – after his shot Federico Bernardeschi (67th) dusted off. This ensured the lackluster but decisive success. The foul penalty missed on the crossbar in the 89th minute is likely to have been only corrected by Ronaldo himself with a view to scoring the scorer.
Juve coach Sarri spoke of the mental exhaustion of his players
“It is difficult to stay mentally and physically at ball level for 90 minutes. The games are strange and the momentum changes very easily,” said coach Maurizio Sarri after the 1-2 at Udinese Calcio on Thursday. Above all, the mental exhaustion of his players is great, said the Juve coach. Because of the defeat, the Turin team had not yet made the championship perfect.
In the end, the calming lead at the top of the table was mainly due to the weakness of the competition. Because in the eleven games before the game on Sunday, the Sarri team had only managed five wins.
It is questionable whether Ronaldo will still be top scorer. Because while the Portuguese superstar has scored 31 goals so far, the former Dortmund Ciro Immobile has already scored 34 goals after his triple pack in the 5: 1 (1: 1) of fourth-placed Lazio Rome at Hellas Verona. The current Juve professional Gonzalo Higuaín holds the record in Italy. The Argentine scored 36 goals for SSC Napoli in the 2015/2016 season.
The next title chance awaits the “old lady” of Italian football in August. Juventus is in the round of 16 of the Champions League, but must make up for a 0-1 first-leg defeat on 7 August against Olympique Lyon to reach the final tournament in Lisbon. Real Madrid or Manchester City would wait as opponents in the next knockout stage.
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