Juventus Blows Chance to Clinch Serie A Title

Juventus could have wrapped up a ninth straight title with a win.

MILAN (AP) — Juventus missed a chance to clinch a record-extending ninth straight Italian league title as it lost 2-1 at relegation-threatened Udinese on Thursday.

Ilija Nestorovski canceled out Matthijs de Ligt’s opener and Seko Fofana grabbed the winner in stoppage time to keep Juve’s celebrations on ice.

Juventus remained six points clear of second-place Atalanta and can secure the title with a win over Sampdoria on Sunday.

It could even be crowned earlier, if Atalanta loses at AC Milan on Friday and Inter fails to win at Genoa on Saturday.

The points could prove crucial for Udinese as it went seven points clear of the relegation zone, with three rounds remaining.

Juventus knew a victory at Udinese would secure the title as the Bianconeri hold the tiebreaker over Atalanta courtesy of a better head-to-head record.

It seemed to be going to plan for Juventus when it took the lead three minutes before halftime. A defensive header out came straight to De Ligt and he took one touch before firing powerfully into the bottom left corner.

DE LIGT FROM DISTANCE!

As it stands, Juventus are 45 minutes away from clinching their ninth straight Scudetto 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Hjr6DtO4lB

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 23, 2020

However, Nestorovski leveled seven minutes after the restart when he headed in Ken Sema’s cross.

Both sides struggled to create clear scoring opportunities but, just as it seemed headed for a draw, Fofana burst downfield from near the halfway line and slotted past Wojciech Szczesny.