Juventus coach Antonio Conte ex-pressed pride in his team’s achievement after they set a new Italian league record of 94 points in a calendar year with a 3-1 win over Cagliari on Friday night.

Victory means Juventus have dropped just eight points so far this season in their pursuit of a successful title defence and they are clear at the top of Serie A going into the Christmas break.

The three points mean Juve have eclipsed the haul of 93, also set by them in 2005 under their former manager Fabio Capello.

Mauricio Pinilla put the Sardinians in front in the 16th minute, but a double from Alessandro Matri, after Arturo Vidal had missed a penalty, turned the game around.

Mirko Vucinic added a third deep into stoppage time while Cagliari ended the game with 10 men with Davide Astori picking up two yellow cards.

Conte lauded his team’s record, believing it encapsulated the approach which has brought them success this year.

He said: “Against Cagliari we showed all the competitiveness and ruthlessness that has allowed us to reach 94 points in 2012 which has seen us beat Fabio Capello’s record.

“I can only ask them to continue like this. It was a show of force, the last one of a winning 2012.

“Whoever plays us has to be fully competitive and alert... Cagliari were there all the way.”

Coppa Italia

The dates for the Coppa Italia quarter-finals and semi-finals were announced yesterday.

The last-eight ties will be one-off affairs but the semis will include home and away matches.

Quarter-finals: Lazio-Catania (Jan. 8), Juventus-Milan (Jan. 9), Inter-Bologna (Jan. 15) and Fiorentina-Roma (Jan. 16).

Semi-finals: (first legs) Lazio/Catania vs Juventus/Milan (Jan. 22), Fiorentina/Roma vs Inter/Bologna (Jan. 23).

Semi-finals: (second legs) Juventus/Milan vs Lazio/Catania (Jan. 29), Inter/Bologna vs Fiorentina /Roma (Jan. 30).