Celebration of Juventus title put on ice after defeat by SPAL

By Alasdair Mackenzie

(Reuters) – Juventus missed their chance to win an eighth consecutive Serie A title on Saturday, as SPAL knocked them out in a 2-1 win at Stadio Paolo Mazza, their first win against Juve in 62 years. .

The players of Mbadimiliano Allegri knew that a draw would be enough to conclude the championship six laps from the end. They took the lead in the first period thanks to Moise Kean.

Kevin Bonifazi and Sergio Floccari secured their first win against the Italian champion since February 1957.

The Turin club can still be named champion this weekend if Napoli, in second place, fails to impose far against Chievo, who is at the bottom, Sunday.

This is the second defeat of Juventus in the league and he has 20 points ahead of Napoli, while SPAL climbed to 13th place with 35 points, seven more than the relegation zone.

Allegri made several changes to his team by focusing on Tuesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final quarter-over quarterly tie against Ajax in Turin, after the first leg ended 1-1.

Andrea Barzagli and Juan Cuadrado have returned after layoffs, while defender Paolo Gozzi, 17, and midfielder Grigoris Kastanos made their Serie A debut for the club.

That's Kean, a 19-year-old striker, who caught the eye when he placed Juve in the fore with an instinctive finish after 29 minutes.

However, SPAL was rewarded for its impressive early second period when Bonifazi equalized in the equalizer.

The hosts continued to play the right foot and were rewarded 15 minutes from the end, when Floccari was thrown on a loose ball into the box and swept a close in the corner.

It was SPAL's second win against Juventus, but it was their third straight home win after their victory over Roma and Lazio.

(Report by Alasdair Mackenzie, edited by Clare Fallon)