Juve celebrate title in Turin – Milan hit back, Balotelli misses penalty

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Juventus’ midfielder Paul Pogba from France fights for the ball with Carpi’s midfielder Marco Crimi during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Carpi on May 1, at the ‘Juventus Stadium’ in Turin. (AFP)
Juventus’ midfielder Paul Pogba from France fights for the ball with Carpi’s midfielder Marco Crimi during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Carpi on May 1, at the ‘Juventus Stadium’ in Turin. (AFP)

MILAN, May 1, (Agencies): Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri kept his cool as the Italian giants celebrated their fifth consecutive title in Turin with a convincing 2-0 win over Carpi to leave them teetering on the edge of relegation.

Brazilian midfielder Hernanes hit his maiden goal for Juve to give the hosts a half-time lead but it took until Simone Zaza’s 80th minute strike, after he had replaced Alvaro Morata, for the title celebrations to really begin.

Juventus, now 15 points ahead of second-placed Napoli before they host Atalanta on Monday, had secured a record-equalling fifth consecutive Serie A crown last Monday when Roma defeated Napoli 1-0 in the capital.

But Allegri was in no mood for seeing complacency creep into his squad.

The last time the sides met, Allegri famously tore off his coat in a rage when Juventus came close to gifting the league minnows a late equaliser before wrapping up a 3-2 win.

This time, the 48-year-old coach remained composed as Juve soaked up a brief spell of pressure in the first half before settling into their stride in a far more convincing second.

Juve’s fans filled the stadium to help celebrate a fifth straight scudetto, which equalled the club’s record from 1935, and were soon given reason to cheer.

Paul Pogba tested ‘keeper Vid Belec with a volley at the near post from Leonardo Bonucci’s delightful cross in the opening exchanges, while Morata sent a diving header just wide.

But with top flight survival at stake, Carpi hit back and Buffon had to stick out a foot at his near post to deny Simone Verdi’s angled drive.

From the resulting corner, a mix-up between Jerry Mbakogu and Emanuele Suagher saw the latter volley wide of the target.

But those were the last of Carpi’s first-half chances, while at the other end defender Daniele Rugani saw a glancing header skim the crossbar.

Juventus finally broke the deadlock on 44 minutes, Hernanes’s low strike from the edge of the box sneaking inside Belec’s near post.

Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli missed a penalty as AC Milan, jeered off the field after a dismal first half, drew 3-3 with lowly Frosinone in Serie A on Sunday while Palermo’s late survival bid continued with a 2-0 win over Sampdoria.

Frosinone, who like Carpi are playing in the top flight for the first time, are four points adrift of safety in 19th and, with two games left, look set to go straight back to Serie B.

Milan’s season has gone from bad to worse since they fired coach Sinisa Mihajlovic three weeks ago and reached a new low when they lost to bottom-of-the-table Verona on Monday.

It looked even worse at halftime at San Siro as Frosinone led 2-0 with goals from Luca Paganini and Oliver Kragl but Milan, under interim coach Christian Brocchi, hit back after the break with the help of two penalties awarded for handball.

Balotelli squandered the first at the start of the half when his effort was saved by Francesco Bardi but Jeremy Menez made no mistake in the second minute of stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.

Crotone clinched promotion to Serie A for the first time in the club’s history after Friday’s 1-1 draw with Modena in the second tier.

With the top two in Serie B automatically promoted, Crotone are 13 points clear of third-place Trapani, who still have four matches to play.

The league-leading Calabrians, who are coached by former Croatia international Ivan Juric, are five points clear of second-place Cagliari who also have a game in hand.

Cagliari are well-placed to join Crotone in the top flight next season, while the third promotion spot will be decided after the play-offs.

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