Juve secure third straight Serie A crown as Spain's Liga title race heats up

Juve secure third straight Serie A crown as Spain's Liga title race heats up
By Euronews
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We start this edition of ‘The Corner’ with title-winning celebrations in Turin.

With Roma’s shock defeat at Catania on Sunday, Juventus were crowned champions of Italy for the 3rd consecutive year and for the 30th time in the club’s history, or 32nd time for the hardcore supporters.

It was the perfect way for Antonio Conte’s men to wash away the bitter taste of losing their Europa League semi-final to Benfica on Thursday.

Next Sunday Juve will be at the Olympic Stadium in Rome with the Scudetto firmly in hand and a third star (to represent 30 titles) permanently sewn on their jerseys.

Violence-hit Coppa Italia

On a more sour note, the Weekend’s Italian Cup final was overshadowed by violent altercations in the capital.

Well-known Roma ultra fan, Daniele De Santis, shot and wounded three Napoli supporters – one of them seriously.

Already well-known by police, De Santis was later arrested and accused of attempted murder.

It was another night of shame for Italian football.

At first the Cup final between Napoli and Fiorentina looked set to be postponed, but after a 45 minute delay and a surprise negotiation with an infamous Napoli Ultra in the stands, the game went ahead.

In the end Rafa Benitez’s Napoli won 3-1 for the club’s 5th Cup title and first in 2 years.

Guingamp wins French Cup

Moving over to Paris and the Stade de France, where Guingamp celebrated their second French Cup crown beating Rennes in a repeat of the final five years ago.

In an all-Brittany final the two sides squared up against each other as they did in 2009.

Nicknamed ‘The Farmers’, Guingamp dominated from the outset and much to the delight of their fans were one nil up after 36 minutes when Jonathan Martins Pereira blasted home from a Christophe Mandanne header.

Mustapha Yatabare claimed the second and what turned out to be the last goal of the tie just after the break.

The Malian international hitting the mark with a close-range header for his eighth goal of the competition.

It was the perfect tonic for Guingamp who will now resume battle to avoid relegation to the French second division.

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Wobbling at the Liga summit

The Spanish title race is hotting up with the three teams gunning for the crown all slipping up at the weekend.

Club’s from Valencia proved stubborn opposition for the two Madrid sides that will fight for the Champions League title later this month.

After nine consecutive victories Atletico Madrid lost at Levante, which could leave Diego Simeone’s men fighting for the title in their final match against rivals Barcelona.

It went slightly better for Real Madrid who needed Cristiano Ronaldo to come to the rescue in the final seconds to salvage a two all draw at home to Valencia. It was his 31st league goal this season.

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Despite drawing a game they should have won Real managed nibbled away at Atletico’s lead, although not as much as they would have liked.

Barcelona missed the perfect opportunity to make up ground when they also suffered a two all draw with Getafe.

The troubled Catalans enjoyed the lead twice through Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez but Angel Lafita clawed Getafe back both times leaving Gerardo Martino’s Barca an uphill journey to the title.

The Blaugrana trail Atletico by three points with Real nipping at their heels two points behind but Carlo Ancelotti’s men have a game in hand which they play on Wednesday at Valladolid – a fixture that could take them back to second place.

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