Serie A Review: Juve poised for fifth successive Scudetto, Palermo earn lifeline

Juventus moved closer to winning the Serie A title for a fifth consecutive season following their late 2-1 victory at Fiorentina, while Palermo boosted their survival hopes on Sunday.

Substitute Alvaro Morata’s 83rd-minute goal and a dramatic penalty save from Gianluigi Buffon left Juve with the possibility of being crowned champions if Napoli fail to beat Roma on Monday.

Nikola Kalinic cancelled out Mario Mandzukic’s first-half opener with nine minutes remaining, only for Morata to restore Juve’s lead two minutes later.

It looked like Juve’s charge towards the title would be halted when Fiorentina were awarded a penalty in the 89th minute, but Buffon brilliantly denied Kalinic.

At the other end of the spectrum, Palermo earned a lifeline with a 2-0 win at fellow strugglers Frosinone.

Second-half goals from Alberto Gilardino and Aleksandar Trajkovski helped Palermo to their first Serie A win since January 24.

More importantly, it lifted Palermo above Frosinone by two points into 18th position, level on points with Carpi with three games remaining in their season. 

Sassuolo’s pursuit of Europa League qualification remains on track after seeing off Torino 3-1 thanks to two late goals from Federico Peluso and Marcello Trotta.

Eusebio Di Francesco’s Sassuolo are seventh in the table, a point adrift of AC Milan.

Also on Sunday, Sampdoria edged Lazio 2-1, Bologna were too good for Genoa 2-0, while 10-man Atalanta prevailed 1-0 at home to Chievo.