Juventus clinched their second successive Serie A title with three games to spare by beating Palermo 1-0 yesterday while Miroslav Klose hit five goals in Lazio’s 6-0 demolition of hapless Bologna.

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal, Juve’s leading scorer with 10 goals, wrapped up the title by converting a 59th-minute penalty amid Palermo protests after Mirko Vucinic was pushed by Massimo Donati.

Juve’s afternoon was dampened when midfielder Paul Pogba was sent off for spitting at Salvatore Aronica in the 84th following a clash between the pair. A pitch invasion at the end also poured more cold water on the celebrations.

Klose’s extraordinary performance began when the 34-year-old Germany international opened the scoring in the 22nd minute although there were suspicions of offside.

Hernanes scored a brilliant second with a dipping 30-metre shot, then Klose grabbed two in three minutes to complete a first-half hat-trick, finishing off a counter-attack and then tapping in Abdoullay Konko’s pass at the far post.

Klose was allowed a free header from Antonio Candreva’s cross as he added a fourth goal early in the second half and he was again unmarked as he turned in a Sergio Floccari pass just after the hour.

Bottom club Pescara were relegated after one season in the top flight when they lost 4-1 at fellow strugglers Genoa with Marco Boriello scoring twice.

Antonio Di Natale scored a brilliant brace for Udinese, who beat Sampdoria 3-1, and Argentine forward Gonzalo Bergessio got a hat-trick to give Catania a 3-0 win over Siena, pushing their opponents closer to Serie B.

Di Natale’s second was a stunning effort as he ran on to a long ball and volleyed his shot over the oncoming Sergio Romero.

Third-placed Milan edged closer to the Champions League playoff spot when a late Mario Balotelli goal, his ninth since he joined from Manchester City at the end of January, gave them a 1-0 win over Torino.

They moved four points clear of Fiorentina who lost 1-0 at home to Roma on Saturday but are seven adrift of Napoli who beat Inter 3-1 last night.

Edinson Cavani was the protagonist for Napoli after bagging a hat-trick while Ricky Alvarez had temporary drawn level for Inter from the penalty spot midway through the first half.

Cavani is not only Serie A’s leading scorer with 26 goals but has now increased his tally to a staggering 101 goals with the Napoli shirt.

Juventus, needing only a point to clinch a record 29th title and their second in coach Antonio Conte’s two seasons at the club, had a lucky escape when Fabrizzio Miccoli hit the post for Palermo early in the second half.

Juventus, who won their eighth successive league game, have 83 points from 35 games, 11 clear of Napoli.

“The difference from last year is that we had nothing to lose, whereas this time we were under an obligation to win because otherwise it would have been treated as a failure,” goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told the Mediaset Premium channel.

“There was a lot of responsibility on our shoulders as it isn’t easy to win in that situation.”

At the bottom, Palermo dropped back into the relegation zone with 32 points, swapping places with Genoa who have 35 while Torino are not out of the woods yet on 36.

Siena, 19th in the 20-team table, have 30 and Pescara 22, now relegated.

Serie A

Catania 3
Bergessio 14, 52, 71;
Siena 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 13,000.
Red card: Felipe (S) 42.

Genoa 4
Floro Flores 19; Borriello 30, 54; Bertolacci 70;
Pescara 1
Sculli 35;

HT: 2-1. Att: 20,000.

Juventus 1
Vidal 59p;
Palermo 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 38,000.
Red card: Pogba (J) 83.

Lazio 6
Klose 22, 36, 39; Klose 50, 62; Hernanes 32;
Bologna 0
HT: 4-0. Att: 32,000.

Milan 1
Balotelli 84;
Torino 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 43,000.

Napoli 3
Cavani 3, 33p, 78;
Inter 1
Alvarez 23p;

HT: 2-1. Att: 40,000.

Parma 2
Parolo 45; Biabiany 58;
Atalanta 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 13,000.

Udinese 3
Di Natale 29, 52; Muriel 89;
Sampdoria 1
Eder 34;

HT: 1-1. Att: 15,000.

  P W D L F A Pts
Juventus 35 26 5 4 67 20 83
Napoli 35 21 9 5 67 33 72
Milan 35 19 8 8 61 38 65
Fiorentina 35 18 7 10 65 43 61
Roma 35 17 7 11 69 54 58
Udinese 35 15 12 8 49 40 57
Lazio 35 16 7 12 46 40 55
Inter 35 16 5 14 52 49 53
Catania 35 14 9 12 46 43 51
Parma 35 11 10 14 41 43 43
Cagliari 35 11 10 14 41 53 43
Bologna 35 10 10 15 44 49 40
Chievo 35 11 7 17 33 49 40
Atalanta (-2) 35 11 8 16 36 51 39
Sampdoria (-1) 35 10 9 16 39 46 38
Torino (-1) 35 8 13 14 43 52 36
Genoa 35 8 11 16 38 52 35
Palermo 35 6 14 15 31 47 32
Siena (-6) 35 9 9 17 34 52 30
Pescara 35 6 4 25 26 74 22

Top scorers
26 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
20 goals: Di Natale (Udinese).
16 goals: El Shaarawy (Milan), Osvaldo (Roma).
15 goals: Denis (Atalanta), Klose (Lazio), Lamela (Roma), Pazzini (Milan).

Next fixtures
Tomorrow: 20.45 Roma vs Chievo.
Wednesday: 18.00 Pescara vs Milan. 20.45 Atalanta vs Juventus; Bologna vs Napoli; Cagliari vs Parma; Inter vs Lazio; Palermo vs Udinese; Sampdoria vs Catania; Siena vs Fiorentina; Torino vs Genoa.

Prima Divisione ‘A’
Como vs AlbinoLeffe 2-1; Lecce vs Carpi 2-2; Trapani vs Reggiana 2-2; San Marino vs Cremonese 1-6; Tritium vs Lumezzane 1-1; Treviso vs FeralpiSalo 3-0; Portogruaro vs SudTirol 1-0; Cuneo vs V. Entella 1-1.

Leading standings: Trapani, Lecce 61; Carpi 51; V. Entella 50; SudTirol 49; Cremonese 46; AlbinoLeffe 44.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Perugia vs Prato 3-0; Catanzaro vs Avellino 0-1; Barletta vs Viareggio 4-0; Pisa vs Benevento 2-0; Latina vs Paganese 4-0; Nocerina vs Carrarese 3-0; Frosinone vs Sorrento 2-4; Andria vs Gubbio 1-2.

Leading standings: Avellino 60 (promoted), Perugia 55; Nocerina 53; Latina 52; Pisa 49; Benevento 42.

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