Juventus lifts Italian title; Man City on brink

LONDON: Juventus won Serie A for the first time since the Calciopoli match- fixing scandal and Manchester City moved closer to a first English title in 44 years.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi extended his record La Liga tally to 50 for the season with four goals against Espanyol.

There was also a record for German champions Borussia Dortmund who finished the season on 81 points, a Bundesliga best. There were chaotic scenes as Juventus fans invaded the pitch to join the celebrations for a record 28th Serie A title which was clinched with a 2-0 win at Cagliari as AC Milan lost 4-2 to arch-rivals Inter in a stormy derby.

Diego Milito scored a hat-trick including two penalties for Inter, who hit back after falling 2-1 behind early in the second half. Mirko Vucinic set Juventus on their way in Trieste, Cagliari’s adopted home for the remainder of this season, with a fifthminute goal and Michele Canini put through his own net in the 74th.

Juventus, unbeaten after 37 matches, have 81 points, four clear of Milan. They last won Serie A in 2003, having been stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles. also a record, and has four more in the league than Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted a penalty in his side’s 2-1 comeback win at Granada.

Jose Mourinho’s Real side, who have 97 points with one game left, will break their arch rivals’ record for points won in a season of 99 with a victory in their final match at home to Real Mallorca next weekend. Paris St. Germain overcame a terrible start in which they conceded two early goals to win 4-3 win at Valenciennes and claim top spot in Ligue 1.

Goals by Nene, Maxwell, Blaise Matuidi and Jeremy Menez put Carlo Ancelotti’s side on 73 points ahead of Montpellier, who play their game in hand at Stade Rennes on Monday, on goal difference with two matches left.

Defending champions Lille, who entertain Caen on Monday, are third on 68 points with three games to play.

Olympique Lyon lost any real hope of securing a Champions League spot next season when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Stade Brest that left them eight points behind Lille. Cologne slipped into the second division as Hertha Berlin grabbed the lifeline of a relegation playoff and champions Borussia Dortmund thumped Freiburg 4-0 to set a Bundesliga season points record.

Dortmund, with two goals each from Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski, finished eight points ahead of Bayern Munich who crushed Cologne 4-1 before their German Cup and Champions League finals this month.