Juventus moves closer to Serie A title
May 6, 2018 | 05:10 PM
Juventus’ players celebrate after winning the Italian Serie A soccer match against Bologna FC in Turin Saturday. — EPA
May 6, 2018 | 05:10 PM
Last Updated: May 6, 2018 | 06:36 PM
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MILAN — Juventus fell behind to a first-half penalty before scoring three times after the break to beat Bologna 3-1 Saturday and close in on its seventh successive Serie A title.
The Turin side capitalized on dreadful defending by the visitors as it moved seven points clear at the top and will clinch the title without playing Sunday in the unlikely event that challenger Napoli loses at home to Torino.
Otherwise, it would need three more points from its last two games which include a home match against a Verona side which was relegated earlier Saturday in a 4-1 defeat at AC Milan.
“Nothing is decided yet but this was definitely a big step in the right direction. We still need three points to be mathematically sure,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“We made life difficult for ourselves with that mix-up in the penalty area but, fortunately, we reacted well.”
Bologna, comfortably sitting in midtable, took a shock lead in an incident which raised more questions about the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) which is being trialed in Serie A and other domestic leagues this season.
Lorenzo Crisetig was pushed over by Daniele Rugani as he intercepted a weak pass out of goal by Gianluigi Buffon and the referee pointed to the spot amid Juventus protests.
Simone Verdi stepped up for the penalty but had to wait for three minutes as the referee checked the incident with VAR officials.
There appeared to a communication problem as the referee went over to look at the pitchside monitor himself before confirming the decision. Verdi kept his cool and virtually rolled the ball into the goal as Buffon went the wrong way.
Juve was gifted an equalizer seven minutes into the second half when Bologna’s Sebastien de Maio turned Juan Cuadrado’s cross into his own goal.
Emil Krafth hit the post for Bologna but the visitors were sunk by more bad defending.
Sami Khedira headed Juve in front after goalkeeper Antonio Mirante flapped half-heartedly at a long looping Douglas Costa cross from the left and Paulo Dybala swept in the third from another Costa cross after the Brazilian won an aerial battle with Vasilis Torosidis far too easily.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Patrick Cutrone, Ignazio Abate and Fabio Borini shared the goals as Milan comfortably dispatched Verona in the early match at San Siro while Lee Seung-woo scored a consolation for the visitors.
Verona was left seven points adrift of safety with two matches to play and went straight back down after being promoted last season.
Valencia confirms Champs spot
Valencia’s place in next season’s Champions League was confirmed when fifth-placed Real Betis were defeated 2-0 by Athletic Bilbao in La Liga Saturday.
Valencia, which has not played in Europe’s premier club competition since 2015, is now assured of a top-four finish and will qualify for the group-stage draw along with champion Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
A late Mario Gaspar strike allowed sixth-placed Villarreal to beat Valencia 1-0 but the day’s earlier result meant that did not have any bearing on Valencia securing the Champions League spot.
Villarreal sits just two points behind Betis on 57 having played a game less.
Second-half strikes from Iker Muniain and Artiz Aduriz helped Athletic to move up to 13th on 43 points, while Betis remain in fifth with 59, eight behind Valencia.
Southampton moved out
of the relegation places
Southampton moved out of the Premier League relegation places with a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park Saturday but was denied victory by an equalizer in the fifth minute of added time.
Substitute Nathan Redmond headed its goal from Cedric’s cross 11 minutes after coming on at halftime.
Southampton defender Maya Yoshida was sent off in the 85th and deep into added time Tom Davies equalized with a shot that took a heavy deflection.
The Saints now has 33 points, ahead of Swansea City.
Everton is comfortable in eighth place but fans distributed leaflets protesting about what they called “the awful football we’ve endured for a number of years”. — Agencies
The Turin side capitalized on dreadful defending by the visitors as it moved seven points clear at the top and will clinch the title without playing Sunday in the unlikely event that challenger Napoli loses at home to Torino.
Otherwise, it would need three more points from its last two games which include a home match against a Verona side which was relegated earlier Saturday in a 4-1 defeat at AC Milan.
“Nothing is decided yet but this was definitely a big step in the right direction. We still need three points to be mathematically sure,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“We made life difficult for ourselves with that mix-up in the penalty area but, fortunately, we reacted well.”
Bologna, comfortably sitting in midtable, took a shock lead in an incident which raised more questions about the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) which is being trialed in Serie A and other domestic leagues this season.
Lorenzo Crisetig was pushed over by Daniele Rugani as he intercepted a weak pass out of goal by Gianluigi Buffon and the referee pointed to the spot amid Juventus protests.
Simone Verdi stepped up for the penalty but had to wait for three minutes as the referee checked the incident with VAR officials.
There appeared to a communication problem as the referee went over to look at the pitchside monitor himself before confirming the decision. Verdi kept his cool and virtually rolled the ball into the goal as Buffon went the wrong way.
Juve was gifted an equalizer seven minutes into the second half when Bologna’s Sebastien de Maio turned Juan Cuadrado’s cross into his own goal.
Emil Krafth hit the post for Bologna but the visitors were sunk by more bad defending.
Sami Khedira headed Juve in front after goalkeeper Antonio Mirante flapped half-heartedly at a long looping Douglas Costa cross from the left and Paulo Dybala swept in the third from another Costa cross after the Brazilian won an aerial battle with Vasilis Torosidis far too easily.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Patrick Cutrone, Ignazio Abate and Fabio Borini shared the goals as Milan comfortably dispatched Verona in the early match at San Siro while Lee Seung-woo scored a consolation for the visitors.
Verona was left seven points adrift of safety with two matches to play and went straight back down after being promoted last season.
Valencia confirms Champs spot
Valencia’s place in next season’s Champions League was confirmed when fifth-placed Real Betis were defeated 2-0 by Athletic Bilbao in La Liga Saturday.
Valencia, which has not played in Europe’s premier club competition since 2015, is now assured of a top-four finish and will qualify for the group-stage draw along with champion Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
A late Mario Gaspar strike allowed sixth-placed Villarreal to beat Valencia 1-0 but the day’s earlier result meant that did not have any bearing on Valencia securing the Champions League spot.
Villarreal sits just two points behind Betis on 57 having played a game less.
Second-half strikes from Iker Muniain and Artiz Aduriz helped Athletic to move up to 13th on 43 points, while Betis remain in fifth with 59, eight behind Valencia.
Southampton moved out
of the relegation places
Southampton moved out of the Premier League relegation places with a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park Saturday but was denied victory by an equalizer in the fifth minute of added time.
Substitute Nathan Redmond headed its goal from Cedric’s cross 11 minutes after coming on at halftime.
Southampton defender Maya Yoshida was sent off in the 85th and deep into added time Tom Davies equalized with a shot that took a heavy deflection.
The Saints now has 33 points, ahead of Swansea City.
Everton is comfortable in eighth place but fans distributed leaflets protesting about what they called “the awful football we’ve endured for a number of years”. — Agencies
