Juventus clinch fourth successive title

MILAN: Juventus landed a fourth successive Serie A crown, and their first under coach Massimiliano Allegri, with four games to spare by winning 1-0 at Sampdoria on Saturday.
Arturo Vidal headed the only goal from Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross in the 32nd minute to put Juve 17 points clear of second-placed Lazio who have five matches to play.
It was their 31st league title triumph, making them Italy’s most successful domestic team by far.
The win completed another dominant season by Juve who have led since the fourth matchday except for one week when they slipped to second. They have lost only three times in 34 games.
Juve are on course for the treble, having reached the Champions League semifinals and Italian Cup final.
Allegri had previously won Serie A with AC Milan in 2011 but was sacked by them halfway through last season.  His appointment by Juve in July, replacing Antonio Conte who won the three previous titles, was greeted by protests from the fans but he quickly won them over.
“We started the season in a bit of a stormy atmosphere with a new coach but the players did well and the coach was intelligent in getting into the mentality of Juve,” defender Leonardo Bonucci told reporters.
It was a typically pragmatic display by Juve who, needing a draw to clinch the crown, rested playmaker Andrea Pirlo and took their foot off the pedal in the second half.
Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic had said that he wanted to see Juve celebrate in Turin rather than at his ground and his side created several early chances in a lively start.
Roberto Soriano fired over the bar after a mistake by the visiting defence and Pedro Obiang’s shot went across the face of goal.
Samuel Eto’o then missed another Sampdoria opportunity when he failed to make proper contact with Djamel Mesbah’s cross.
Juve weathered the storm and Vidal scored when Lichtsteiner’s centre found him and Fernando Llorente unmarked at the far post and the Chilean headed powerfully beyond Emiliano Viviano.  In the second half the visitors maintained possession for long periods to frustrate Sampdoria.
Carlos Tevez had Juve’s best effort when his low shot was tipped around the post.
Sampdoria gave the visitors a few uncomfortable moments but did not look like denying them the title.
There is little time for celebrations for Juve who host Real Madrid in a Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday. (Agencies)