Italian titan Juventus claimed its staggering ninth straight Serie A title on Sunday, beating visiting Sampdoria 2-0 on goals by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and second-half substitute Federico Bernardeschi.
The Turin-based club’s continued dominance of one of global soccer’s top leagues is unprecedented; the next longest winning streak in the Italian top flight’s 90-year history is five, accomplished by Juve way back in the 1930s and Inter Milan from 2006-10. Juventus’ crosstown rival Torino won five Italian titles in the mid- to late-1940s.
After the two teams were forced to make three substitutions in the opening half hour because of injury, Ronaldo opened the scoring in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United icon depositing the ball into the bottom corner of Sampdoria’s net off a clever cut-back from Miralem Pjanic’s free kick.