Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri hailed the unrelenting effort of his side after a 2-1 win over Fiorentina delivered an eighth successive Serie A title.
Celebrations had been put on hold following the unexpected loss at SPAL, which was followed by the disappointment of a midweek Champions League exit against Ajax.
After falling behind to Nikola Milenkovic’s sixth-minute strike and then seeing another goal from Giovanni Simeone ruled out for offside, Juve finally got themselves back on course.
Alex Sandro’s diving header from a corner levelled things up before half-time, with German Pezzella then putting a low cross from Cristiano Ronaldo into his own net as Juve turned the match around.
While it was far from a vintage display by Allegri’s team, it was nevertheless enough to secure another Scudetto.
Allegri was sprayed with foam on the pitch as well as being given a celebratory dunk in the team bath following Juve’s achievement, which is unmatched among the top five leagues in Europe.
Juventus players celebrate another Serie A title success (Luca Bruno/AP)
The 51-year-old becomes the first coach to win five consecutive Serie A titles, and with six in total the former AC Milan boss is the second most successful after Giovanni Trapattoni.
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Speaking afterwards, quoted on the Juventus websites, Allegri said: “The eighth scudetto won with five matches to play shows the importance of what has been done.
“In previous years we had some downturns, but this season, given also our fixture list, we had to put down the accelerator by force.”
Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer, became the first player to win league titles in England, Spain and Italy.
“I am very happy after winning in England and Spain now I win the title also in Italy,” he said.
“I cared about it and we held each other as a team.
“It was an excellent year, absolutely positive, we won the championship and the (Italian) Super Cup. In the Champions League, we will try again next year.”
5' MIIIIIIILENKOVIIIIIC 👏🤩— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) April 20, 2019
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Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella was left to reflect on what might have been after seeing his side create enough chances to have won the match, especially during the opening 45 minutes.
“In the first half you only saw Fiorentina, but we couldn’t finish things off. It was a little picture of our season,” Montella said at a post-match press conference.
“I think the team played a great game in a difficult stadium. On one hand I’m happy with the performance, on the other I’m angry for not being able to get a result.
“With a bit of luck we could have got a result. However, we have to be happy with the performance.”
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