IT WAS A pretty simple equation for Napoli: go out and beat Roma in Monday’s early kick-off to stay in the title race.
Anything less than three points would result in Juventus being crowned champions for a fifth straight time.
And, thanks to Radja Nainggolan’s 89th-minute winner at the Stadio Olimpico, the Old Lady’s dominance of Italian football continues for another year.
The run of Scudetti equals Juve’s own record from the 1930s while the team now stands alongside the likes of Il Grande Torino and the Inter side that racked up five championships between 2006 and 2010.
Arguably, this could be regarded as one of Juve’s most impressive recent titles due to their awful start and the solid, consistent challenge posed by Napoli.
From their first six league games, Juve won just once and they seemed stranded in 12th place in the table at the end of October.
From the 25 games since, Juve have dropped two points.
It’s a second straight league title for Max Allegri too, who has only been in the job since 2014.
Today’s win for Roma, meanwhile, does their hopes of a second-place finish no harm. They jump to within two points of Napoli with three games left.
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