Juventus charge to title

FOOTBALL

Juventus secured their first Italian league championship for nine years yesterday with a 4-0 victory over second-placed Parma at the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin.

Juve have an insurmountable 10-point lead over Parma, with two matches remaining, although the two clubs will meet again in next month's two- leg Italian Cup final. It was sweet revenge for the Turin side, beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Parma in midweek in the two-leg Uefa Cup final.

Roberto Baggio celebrated his first Serie A title by playing a key role in the first three goals. Baggio is currently negotiating an extension of his contract with the club, which expires in June. He has been offered a two-year extension, on condition he accepts a pounds 400,000 pay cut from his annual income of pounds 1.5m.

First he masterminded a counter-attack from deep in his own half for Fabrizio Ravanelli's 11th-minute opener. Then in the 38th minute, Baggio's neat back-heel set up Didier Deschamps. Midway through the second half, a superb through-ball laid on Gianluca Vialli's 16th goal of the season. Four minutes later, Ravanelli completed the humiliation with his second goal of the game.

Aron Winter's 81st-minute winner for Lazio dealt a blow to Sampdoria's Uefa Cup hopes. Lazio's win over the Genoa side moves them into joint third place with the European Cup finalists, Milan, whose owner, Silvio Berlusconi, is facing a court case. On Saturday, Milan prosecutors formally asked a judge to indict him on corruption charges.

Genoa's hopes of staying in Serie A were boosted by their 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Foggia, who now look certain to join Brescia and Reggiana in Serie B next season.