Juventus claim title No. 29

Juventus clinched its successive Serie A title on Sunday with a controversial 1-0 win over Palermo to secure the Antonio Conte-coached team's 29th league crown

Juventus clinched its successive Serie A title on Sunday with a controversial 1-0 win over Palermo to secure the Antonio Conte-coached team’s 29th league crown with three rounds remaining. Arturo Vidal gave Juventus the lead shortly before the hour mark,firing home a debatable penalty after Massimo Donati was adjudged to have pushed over Mirko Vucinic.

The goal sparked celebration among the home fans,who had been momentarily silenced when Palermo captain Fabrizio Miccoli hit the post. Juventus’ Paul Pogba was sent off seven minutes from time for spitting at Salvatore Aronica. The result left Juventus provisionally 14 points clear of Napoli,which hosts Inter Milan later.

The Champions League took a lot of important energy,but the squad has been exceptional in every aspect. I will never stop thanking them,the lads are the real architects of this title. I also thank the club and my staff,who were there especially at the beginning when I was banned, Conte said.

It is Conte’s second title in as many years as Juventus coach and helps put the club’s darkest period even further behind it. Juventus last won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 06 but was then stripped of both and relegated to Serie B in a wide-ranging match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football.

The fans and club still count those two titles and after the final whistle a giant banner was unfurled in the center circle with the number 31.

Players and staff also celebrated with 31 flags amid a pitch invasion at the Juventus Stadium. The players were forced to move their party to the locker room as supporters continued streaming onto the pitch,ripping up pieces of turf and even pulling down the goal nets in their bid for a souvenir.

Meanwhile,AC Milan moved a step closer to securing a Champions League berth after a late goal from Mario Balotelli gave it a 1-0 win over Torino. It is four points ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina,which lost 1-0 against Roma on Saturday.

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With a better head-to-head record over Napoli,Juventus needed only a point to secure the title. It dominated the first half but struggled to carve out clear goalscoring opportunities.

Juventus’ best chance came in the 28th minute when Palermo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino did well to turn Vucinic’s shot around his post.

Vidal also went close when his strike went just wide of the left post.

Palermo almost stunned Juventus by taking the lead early in the second half but Miccoli’s diagonal effort crashed off the base of the left post. Juventus took the lead when Donati barged Vucinic in the back as the Juventus striker was trying to chest down a ball from Pogba. Vidal stepped up and fired into the bottom left corner. He immediately ran over to the stands to hug teammate Simone Pepe,who has missed almost the entire season with injury.