Juventus clinches record 6th straight Serie A title

Paulo Dybala (right) scores a goal during the match between Juventus and Crotone

Juventus clinched a record sixth straight Serie A title with a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Crotone in the penultimate round yesterday.

Mario Mandzukic gave Juventus the lead 12 minutes in by redirecting a cross from Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala scored with a precise free kick shortly before the break and Alex Sandro added another with a header near the end.

Juventus moved four points clear of second-placed Roma, which last Sunday handed the Bianconeri their first Serie A loss since January.

Since Serie A was founded in 1929, no club had previously won more than five straight titles.

Torino won five consecutive titles from 1943-49 (including a season that was canceled due to World War II), Inter Milan took five straight from 2006-10 and Juventus claimed a handful from 1931-35.

“We’ve written one of the greatest pages in the book of football history,” said Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, who also won the 2002 and 2003 Serie A titles with Juventus.

“Winning is never easy,” Buffon added. “Beyond what people say, staying at the top is synonymous with sacrifice on everyone’s part. […] If you want to always win matches, you’ve got to always have your head in focus and your legs prepared.”

It’s the second title in five days for Juventus after a 2-0 win over Lazio in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday.

The Bianconeri has a chance to complete the treble with a victory over Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League final on June 3.

Juventus also added to its record number of Serie A titles, with its 33rd.

Players dumped shaving cream over the head of manager Massimiliano Allegri at the final whistle, then put on celebratory T-shirts with a ‘6’ on them. Andrew Dampf, Rome, AP