ITALY: Alessandro Florenzi and Edin Dzeko scored late as Roma beat Juventus 2-0 to keep their hopes of Champions League football next season alive on Sunday.
Dzeko set up Florenzi for the first after 79 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico with the Bosnian then slotting in the second two minutes into injury time as Juventus fell to just their third defeat this season.
The defeat came on the day that Juventus displayed their new strip which no longer features the club’s iconic black and white stripes in a breakaway from over a century of tradition.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side have not won a match since sealing an eighth consecutive Scudetto, being held to 1-1 draws in their last two games against Inter Milan and Torino.Roma needed a win after their Champions League rivals Atalanta, AC Milan, Torino and Lazio all won their games this weekend. Juventus and Napoli have already booked their berths in next season’s elite European berths with two places remaining.Atalanta beat Genoa 2-1 on Saturday to move third two points ahead of Inter Milan, who play bottom club Chievo on Monday.AC Milan also won 1-0 against Fiorentina 1-0, and are one point behind Inter in fifth, with Roma equal on points with Milan, with two games left to play.
“A great Mirante kept us up in the first half but I am satisfied with the game,” said Roma coach Claudio Ranieri.
Playing in their new jersies, Juventus with nothing left to play for, and with growing speculation over Allegri’s future, failed to take advantage of their first half domination. (AFP)
