Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri called on the Turin giants to complete a historic treble in the Champions League final after securing a third successive league and Cup double on Sunday.
“This season was much different to last season. Now, we have the dream of the Champions League final, which you don’t get to play every year,” Allegri said after a 3-0 win over Crotone wrapped up a sixth straight Serie A title.
“It’s our second final in three years, so we have to congratulate everyone at the club. I’m happy to coach here, and we’ll soon sit down to talk about some ideas.
“But right now, the most important thing is to play, and win, the final in Cardiff.”
First-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala, and a late header from Alex Sandro sealed a comfortable victory to leave Juve four points clear of Roma with one game to play.
Needing a win to secure the title, Mandzukic gave the hosts a 12th-minute lead when he met Juan Cuadrado’s cross at the back post to fire past Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz.
Croatia international Mandzukic, celebrating his 31st birthday, almost gave Juve a 2-0 lead before Fabio Sampirisi toe-poked the ball away from the big forward as he teed up.
But the fans who packed out Juve’s stadium for their final home game of the campaign were not to be denied.
Dybala doubled the lead with a sumptuous free-kick that curled into the top corner to leave Cordaz with no chance six minutes before half-time.
Looking for a win to boost their top-flight survival hopes, Crotone came close to reducing arrears on the stroke of half-time when Diego Falcinelli’s effort deflected off Mehdi Benatia’s and skimmed the roof of the net with Gianluigi Buffon stranded.
But the Calabrians were never likely to deny Juventus the well-deserved title celebrations that were put on hold last week when Roma stunned Allegri’s men 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Juve bounced back from their defeat in the capital three days later with a 2-0 Italian Cup final victory over Lazio.
And their third consecutive league and Cup double, also a record, was all but sealed seven minutes from time when Sandro’s bullet header pinged in off the underside of the crossbar, goal-line technology confirming it had crossed the line despite the best efforts of Cordaz.
With two legs of the treble complete, Juventus will try to dethrone 11-time European kings Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Cardiff on June 3 to accomplish what no team in the club’s history has ever achieved.
