Third-placed Juventus are four points ahead of fourth-placed Bologna in the Italian top flight.©AFP
Juventus and Bologna were both held to a draw on Saturday as Serie A clubs’ Champions League bids were slowed by Turin and Monza. The Turin derby stalemate and Bologna’s loss of points for the second week in a row left third-placed Juve four points ahead of Bologna on an uneventful evening in the Italian top flight. The strong performances of Italian clubs in Europe this season mean Serie A is all but assured of an extra place in next year’s revamped version of the continent’s biggest club competition.
This should ensure Juve return to Europe’s elite in September. They are 13 points ahead of Atalanta who are sixth and will face Verona on Monday evening.
However, Massimiliano Allegri’s side have won just twice in their last 11 matches and are 19 points behind champions-elect Inter Milan after being title contenders in January.
“We have not yet achieved our goals… it is a footballing goal for those of us involved in the team but an economic goal for the club,” said Allegri, whose team has missed out on European football due to a points deduction last year. .
“If you have three or four chances in the first half and you don’t take them, especially against a Turin team who have the fourth best defensive record in Serie A, it becomes difficult.”
Juve didn’t do enough to win their city derby, but Dusan Vlahovic should have scored in the sixth minute when he hit the post from close range after excellent work on the right from Federico Chiesa.
Vlahovic was also denied by a smart save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic just after the hour mark, while Duvan Zapata scored seconds after half-time for Torino only for his goal to be ruled out for Raoul Bellanova’s foul on Filip Kostic.
Turin remains ninth after Saturday’s stalemate, five points behind Atalanta and the Europa Conference League place.
Bologna are trying to secure their first-ever Champions League berth, although they played one round in the old European Cup in 1964, the same year they recently won Serie A.
Roma, fifth and fresh from a first-leg victory against AC Milan in the Europa League quarter-finals, can move a point behind Bologna with victory at Udinese on Sunday.
Earlier, Nicola Sansone’s late strike gave Lecce a 1-0 win over compatriots Empoli.
Sansone scored the decisive goal into an empty net with a minute remaining in southern Italy, putting Lecce 13th and six points above the drop zone.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Third-placed Juventus are four points ahead of fourth-placed Bologna in the Italian top flight.©AFP
Juventus and Bologna were both held to a draw on Saturday as Serie A clubs’ Champions League bids were slowed by Turin and Monza. The Turin derby stalemate and Bologna’s loss of points for the second week in a row left third-placed Juve four points ahead of Bologna on an uneventful evening in the Italian top flight. The strong performances of Italian clubs in Europe this season mean Serie A is all but assured of an extra place in next year’s revamped version of the continent’s biggest club competition.
This should ensure Juve return to Europe’s elite in September. They are 13 points ahead of Atalanta who are sixth and will face Verona on Monday evening.
However, Massimiliano Allegri’s side have won just twice in their last 11 matches and are 19 points behind champions-elect Inter Milan after being title contenders in January.
“We have not yet achieved our goals… it is a footballing goal for those of us involved in the team but an economic goal for the club,” said Allegri, whose team has missed out on European football due to a points deduction last year. .
“If you have three or four chances in the first half and you don’t take them, especially against a Turin team who have the fourth best defensive record in Serie A, it becomes difficult.”
Juve didn’t do enough to win their city derby, but Dusan Vlahovic should have scored in the sixth minute when he hit the post from close range after excellent work on the right from Federico Chiesa.
Vlahovic was also denied by a smart save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic just after the hour mark, while Duvan Zapata scored seconds after half-time for Torino only for his goal to be ruled out for Raoul Bellanova’s foul on Filip Kostic.
Turin remains ninth after Saturday’s stalemate, five points behind Atalanta and the Europa Conference League place.
Bologna are trying to secure their first-ever Champions League berth, although they played one round in the old European Cup in 1964, the same year they recently won Serie A.
Roma, fifth and fresh from a first-leg victory against AC Milan in the Europa League quarter-finals, can move a point behind Bologna with victory at Udinese on Sunday.
Earlier, Nicola Sansone’s late strike gave Lecce a 1-0 win over compatriots Empoli.
Sansone scored the decisive goal into an empty net with a minute remaining in southern Italy, putting Lecce 13th and six points above the drop zone.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article