Juventus won a third consecutive Serie A title without playing yesterday when Roma, their only remaining challengers, lost 4-1 at lowly Catania.

Juventus players celebrated their record 30th title in the guest house which the team uses as a pre-match retreat after watching Roma’s dramatic collapse on television.

“It is the second time I've won a Scudetto without playing, as it happened about 10 years ago.

“It’s different, a special sensation, but still wonderful,” goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told Mediaset.

“Of course I prefer the satisfaction of winning on the field and that moment the whistle blows and you have given everything you’ve got, both physical and psychological.”

Defender Giorgio Chiellini added: “It was an incredible journey and we’re not finished as we want to become the first Serie A club to amass 100 points.”

Roma, who had bravely kept their challenge going by winning their last nine games, inexplicably produced one of their worst performances of the season against the Sicilian strugglers.

Mariano Izco stunned Roma by scoring twice in an eight-minute spell in the first half and fellow Argentines Gonzalo Bergessio and Pablo Barrientos left Roma's title hopes in tatters after the break. Francesco Totti replied for Roma.

The defeat left Roma eight points behind Juventus, who host Atalanta tonight,with the Giallorossi having only two games left to play.

Juventus have 93 points from 35 games, with Roma on 85 from 36 and third-placed Napoli 69 for 35.

Sunday’s match between Roma and Juventus, which could have been the game of the season, will now be little more than a friendly.

“We got everything wrong, the players and the coach,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia told RAI.

“We have seen the difference in motivation between the two sides. When it’s not there, it’s difficult to win.

“We left our game in the dressing room, there was no movement and we lost all the tackles,” added the Frenchman.

In the late game, Milan edged Inter 1-0 to close the gap on their city rivals to three points.

Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong settled the derby in the 65th minute, heading the ball home from Mario Balotelli’s free-kick.

Milan are now only one point behind sixth-placed Torino.

Catania moved off the bottom and were replaced by Livorno who lost 5-3 at Udinese in a game in which seven of the goals came in an extraordinary first half.

Struggling Bologna drew 0-0 at Genoa in another result which favoured the Sicilians and Chievo were beaten 1-0 at home by Torino.

Those results left Chievo in 16th with 30 points followed by Bologna (29), Sassuolo (28), Catania (26) and Livorno (25).

The bottom three go down.

Results

Serie A

Catania 4
Izco 26, 34; Bergessio 56; Barrientos 79;
Roma 1
Totti 37;

HT: 2-1. Att: 19,028.

Chievo 0
Torino 1
Sardo 54 og;

HT: 0-0. Att: 10,000.
Red card: Pellissier (C) 66.

Genoa 0
Bologna 0

Att: 20,000.

Milan 1
De Jong 65;
Inter 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 73,000.

Parma 2
Cassano 8; Schelotto 90;
Sampdoria 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 12,000.

Udinese 5
Di Natale 19, 45; Badu 21; Pereyra 34; Silva 44;
Livorno 3
Paulinho 13, 29; Mesbah 88;

HT: 5-2. Att: 14,000.
Missed penalty: Di Natale (U) 18.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Juventus	35	30	3	2	75	23	93
Roma	36	26	7	3	72	23	85
Napoli	35	20	9	6	64	36	69
Fiorentina	35	18	7	10	59	38	61
Inter	36	14	15	7	57	36	57
Torino	36	15	10	11	55	45	55
Parma	36	14	12	10	55	45	54
Milan	36	15	9	12	54	46	54
Lazio	35	14	10	11	49	47	52
Verona	35	16	4	15	56	58	52
Atalanta	35	14	5	16	40	47	47
Sampdoria	36	12	8	16	43	54	44
Udinese	36	12	6	18	41	52	42
Genoa	36	10	11	15	38	46	41
Cagliari	35	9	12	14	34	46	39
Chievo	36	8	6	22	31	53	30
Bologna	36	5	14	17	27	55	29
Sassuolo	35	7	7	21	34	65	28
Catania	36	6	8	22	30	64	26
Livorno	36	6	7	23	39	74	25

Playing today
Lazio vs Verona - 19.00
Juventus vs Atalanta - 21.00

Playing tomorrow
Fiorentina vs Sassuolo - 19.00
Napoli vs Cagliari - 21.00

Top scorers
21 goals: Immobile (Torino).
19 goals: Toni (Verona), Tevez (Juventus).
17 goals: Higuain (Napoli)

Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Verona vs Udinese; 20.45 Inter vs Lazio.
Sunday: 12.30 Atalanta vs Milan. 15.00 Bologna vs Catania; Cagliari vs Chievo; Livorno vs Fiorentina; Sampdoria vs Napoli; Sassuolo vs Genoa; Torino vs Parma. 20.45 Roma vs Juventus.

Prima Divisione ‘A’
Cremonese vs Entella 1-2; Pro Patria vs SudTirol 1-2; Reggiana vs FeralpiSalo 0-1; Pro Vercelli vs Carrarese 2-0; Savona vs Lumezzane 4-1; Albinoleffe vs Venezia 2-1; Como vs Pavia 0-1; San Marino vs Vicenza 2-2.

Leading standings: Entella 58; Pro Vercelli 57; SudTirol 49; Cremonese, Vicenza 47; Savona 44; Albinoleffe 43.

Prima Divisione ‘B’
Viareggio vs Pisa 1-2; Pontedera vs Gubbio 3-1; L’Aquila vs Catanzaro 0-0; Prato vs Benevento 3-3; Perugia vs Frosinone 1-0; Barletta vs Grosseto 1-1; Paganese vs Salernitana1-0.

Leading standings: Perugia 66; Frosinone 62; Lecce 61; Catanzaro 55; L’Aquila 53; Pisa 52; Benevento 51; Pontedera 49.