Juventus clinch fifth consecutive title, Roma qualify for Europe as Fiorentina survive relegation: Serie A Femminile Week 21 Round-Up
Juventus survive pressure from AS Roma, clinching the Scudetto with one game to go
Goals from Babrbara Bonansea, Cristiana Girelli and Lisa Boattin were enough for the Bianconere to record a comfortable 3-1 win over US Sassuolo to seal their fifth consecutive Scudettto in front of their fans at the Juventus Centre Vinovo in Turin on Saturday.
Bonansea opened the account for the hosts with a strike on the half hour mark with an assist from Girelli before the latter made it 2-0 just six minutes later.
Forward Michela Cambiaghi pulled one back for the visitors three minutes into the second half before Boattin made it 3-1 for Juventus with a 64thminute strike with an assist from Bonansea.
Speaking after the win, Juventus coach Joe Montemurro was emotional and said that his team had shown character in clinching the title.
"I have always followed Serie A, since I was a child. To be here, in a club that I have always supported, to win the Scudetto,is a very emotional moment.
“We have worked on the mentality, the girls have shown personality and character, which has brought them here.
“The most difficult matches? Those in which we were expected to win. This team has a very high standard, but a Scudetto like this is just the starting point", Montemurro is quoted as saying by the club website.
The Bianconere have registered 56 points from 18 wins and two draws in 21 outings whilst Sassuolo, who started the season on a high before their fortunes took a serious knock, are 16 points away with 12 wins, four draws and five defeats.
Elsewhere, AS Roma qualified for UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) with an 8-0 destruction of Sampdoria at home on Saturday.
Forward Annamaria Serturini opened the scoring just eight minutes into the first half with an assist from Spanish forward Paloma Lázaro before forward Valeria Pirone made it 2-0 with a strike on 19 minutes with an assist from Serturini.
Pirone completed her brace just three minutes later as Lázaro registered her second assist of the day before midfielder Manuela Giugliano made it 4-0 on 26 minutes with another assist from Lázaro.
Lázaro made it 5-0 when it became her chance to find the back of the net five minutes into the second half before Swedish defender Beata Kollmats made it 6-0 in the 71st minute with an assist from Giugliano.
Former LSK Kvinner striker Sophie Roman Haug, who was a 58thminute substitute replacing Lázaro, made it 7-0 with a strike three minutes before time before skipper Elisa Bartoli made it 8-0 in second half extra-time.
Roma coach Alessandro Spugna expressed great joy at qualifying for UWCL saying that his troops had shown a great desire towards this goal.
“This desire [to qualify for champions league] has been in the air for a while. [We knew that] victory could give us mathematical certainty. We have achieved it. We had some absences; we saw some who played less at work. But the girls were all very good.
“[We are] very happy. It was the goal that at some point in the season we thought we could achieve. We were all very good, they were practically perfect, the error rate was zero, we did it and it is beautiful. A very important result, the qualification for the Champions League. Lots of stuff”, Spugna is quoted as saying by the Italian media.
A solitary Daniela Sabatino strike against ASD Pomigliano was enough for troubled Fiorentina to escape relegation on Sunday.
The Italian international found the back of the net just four minutes into the first half before blowing the chance to extend the lead when she missed a penalty on 33 minutes.
The 36-year-old took her goal tally to 13 and looks to have wrestled the Serie A Femminile golden boot award from current holder Cristiana Girelli.
Fiorentina rose to eighth on the standings with 21 points from six wins and three draws in 21 matches whilst Pomigliano slipped to ninth with 20 points from six wins and two draws in the same number of contests.
AC Milan were Derby di Milano victors with a comfortable 3-0 win over city rivals Inter away on Saturday.
French forward Lindsey Thomas opened the scoring for AC Milan on 17 minutes and the match would go to the break with the visitors in the lead.
American midfielder Celeste Boureille made it 2-0 with a strike four minutes into the second half before defender Linda Tucceri Cimini put the contest to bed with a strike on 60 minutes to give Milan a three-goal cushion.
Milan remain third on the standings on 46 points from 14 wins and four draws in 21 encounters whilst Inter remain fifth on 38 points from 12 wins and four draws in the same number of contests.
Napoli registered their fifth win of the season with a 3-1 win over Empoli away on Sunday.
Empoli opened the scoring through the boot of AC Milan on-loan forward Sara Tamborini just 10 minutes into the first half before Argentine forward Sole Jaimes equalised for Napoli on the stroke of half-time.
Forward Eleonora Goldoni made it 2-1 for Napoli with a strike in first half extra-time and the visitors took the lead into the break.
Forward Romina Pinna put the contest to bed when she made it 3-1 for Napoli with a 73rd minute strike.
Napoli are now safe from the chop being six points from relegation. They have registered 19 points from five wins and four draws in 21 outings whilst Empoli remain seventh on 23 points from six wins and three draws in the same number of matches.
Lazio blew a three-goal lead to draw four-all in a bottom-of-the-table clash against Hellas Verona away on Sunday.
Lazio opened the scoring through the boot of forward Noemi Visentin just seven minutes into the first half and doubled the lead three minutes later through midfielder Giulia Ferrandi.
Hungarian international Beatrix Fördős made it 3-0 for Lazio with a strike on 36 minutes before she scored an own goal in the 43rdminute to make it 3-1.
Russian midfielder Alina Myagkova made it 3-2 for Verona with a strike two minutes into the second half before fellow midfielder Alessia Rognoni made it 3-3 for the hosts with a strike on 59 minutes.
Defender Michela Ledri made it 4-3 for Verona with a strike in the 70th minute as the hosts completed a spectacular come-back from three goals down. The match looked set to end on that note before Fördős returned for her second to equalise for Lazio three minutes into second half extra-time.
Both Lazio and Verona will be relegated. Lazio have registered 13 points from three wins and four draws in 21 contests whilst Verona have recorded five points from one win and two draws in the same number of outings.
RESULTS (Saturday): AS Roma 8 – 0 Sampdoria; Internazionale 0 – 3 AC Milan; Juventus 3 – 1 US Sassuolo
RESULTS (Sunday): Hellas Verona 4 – 4 Lazio; Empoli 1 – 3 Napoli; ASD Pomigliano 0 – 1 Fiorentina