Juventus secured their spot for the next UEFA Champions League season after the birthday man Leonardo Bonucci’s brace helped them to beat Venezia in their latest home Italian Serie A 2021/22 game. They finalized their next UCL journey after the hosts Roma had a goalless draw result against Bologna in the later game.
Last Sunday (1st May), the record 36-time Italian Serie A winners Juventus welcomed Venezia, the last-placed team in the ongoing season. Bonucci, celebrating his 35th birthday, had a great start on the matchday as his header opened the scoreline in just 7 minutes of the match. It was his first goal in this calendar year as the veteran previously scored twice against Lazio during their away Serie A game last November.
But in the 71st minute, Mattia Aramu equalized the scoreline with an incredible low shot from a long-range.
However, just five minutes after that equalizer goal, the birthday man Bonucci once again netted to regain their lead of the match. After the visiting goalie Niki Maenpaa’s incredible save denied Danilo’s header, Bonucci brought the final laugh for the hosts in that battle by making no mistake to net the ball from very close range. It was his fifth goal of this Serie A season, including two braces.
Venezia failed to make another comeback in that game as The Old Lady managed to add three points to their tally after the final whistle. It was the first game for Venezia after sacking their previous manager Paolo Zanetti in the last mid-week. The team first time came to the field under the caretaker manager Andrea Soncin, but they could only manage to extend their present Serie A losing streak to nine games.
Battle for next UEFA Champions League spots: Juventus got relief after Roma draw
Later on the same day, Roma only managed to secure one point against Bologna at home after both teams failed to open the scoreline. That result confirmed Juventus’ spot for the UEFA Champions League 2022/23.
Juventus now have 69 points in 35 games in the ongoing Serie A season as the fourth-positioned team on the table is now 10 points ahead of the fifth-positioned and sixth-positioned teams Roma and Lazio respectively (both have 59 points in 35 matches). So, the Turin-based club is now safe in the qualification battle for the UCL 2022/23.
Juventus had very tough luck for almost the first half of this season. The leading goal-scorer of Serie A 2020/21, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo left Turin and returned to the English Premier League club Manchester United during the early of this season, and I Bianconeri heavily struggled since then. But since last November, they have majorly maintained consistency till now.
Also, Juventus still have the chance to move up in the ongoing Serie A points table as AC Milan (77 points in 35 matches), Internazionale (75 points in 35 games) and Napoli (70 points in 35 matches) are ahead of the Old Lady.
Spanish club Villarreal ended the record-time Serie A winners’ journey in the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 in the Round of 16 stages. But the Old Lady can now dream of a better UCL experience in the next season.
