Juventus breaks 100-pt barrier

Champions Juventus became the first team to break the 100-points barrier in Serie A when they beat Cagliari 3-0 in their final league game of the season Sunday.

May 18, 2014
Juventus breaks 100-pt barrier
Juventus breaks 100-pt barrier





MILAN — Champions Juventus became the first team to break the 100-points barrier in Serie A when they beat Cagliari 3-0 in their final league game of the season Sunday.



Juventus, which won all 19 of their home matches, completed its campaign with 102 points after winning 33, drawing three and losing two of their 38 games.



It finished 17 points clear of AS Roma, which slumped to its third successive defeat when it lost 1-0 at Genoa to a late goal scored by Giannis Fetfatzidis.



At the bottom, already relegated Catania bid farewell to Serie A with a 2-1 win over Atalanta thanks to Gonzalo Bergessio’s stoppage time penalty.



Before and during the match, Juventus fans appealed to coach Antonio Conte not to leave the club.



Martino quits as Barca coach



Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino resigned Saturday after just one season in charge having finished second to Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race and failed to win a major trophy.



The Argentine had been faced with the tough challenge of maintaining Barcelona’s incredible recent record of success and while it remained in the title chase until the final game of the season, its performances drew criticism.



Victory in Saturday’s final game at home to Atletico, would have drawn them level on 89 points with the Madrid side and seen it finish first with a superior head-to-head record.



In the end, however, they could only manage a 1-1 draw, which left it without major silverware for the first time in six years.



Former player Luis Enrique is the favourite to replace Martino, having resigned as Celta Vigo coach Friday.



Bayern bags domestic double



In Berlin, extra-time goals from Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller handed Bayern Munich a 2-0 German Cup final victory over rival Borussia Dortmund Saturday and secured a tenth domestic double.



Dutchman Robben, who scored the winner against Dortmund in the Champions League final last season, tapped in at the far post in the 107th minute after the country’s top two teams slugged it out in a goalless but entertaining 90 minutes.

Mueller then raced clear deep in stoppage time to complete the win over their bitter rivals immediately after Marco Reus had missed a chance to equalize.



Victory ended a bad run for Bayern which had won the league title with seven games to spare in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge before hitting a slump in form, including a comprehensive Champions League semi-final defeat by Real Madrid.



“It was a very important goal,” Robben told ARD television. “This was a Cup, and we really wanted to win it. We are here, won the double, had a super season and that’s the bottom line.”



Saturday’s final was marked by a controversial goalline incident with Mats Hummels’ header in the 64th minute cleared on the line by Bayern defender Dante with television replays showing the entire ball may have crossed the line.



German football bosses earlier in the year voted against the introduction of goalline technology but the latest incident is set to renew the debate. Bayern, missing injured Bastian Schweinsteiger and David Alaba, also had captain Philipp Lahm limp off with a muscle injury after less than half an hour. — Agencies


May 18, 2014
HIGHLIGHTS
World
11 hours ago

Trump says Cambodia and Thailand agree to begin ceasefire talks

World
11 hours ago

Five more Palestinians, including two children, die of starvation in Gaza

World
11 hours ago

Record-breaking heat scorches regions across four continents as marine heatwave intensifies