MILAN: Alessandro Florenzi and Edin Dzeko scored late as AS Roma beat Juventus 2-0 to keep their hopes of Champions League football next season alive on Sunday.

Dzeko set up Florenzi for the first after 79 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico with the Bosnian then slotting in the second two minutes into injury time as Juventus fell to just their third defeat this season.

The defeat came on the day that Juventus displayed their new strip which no longer features the club’s iconic black and white stripes in a breakaway from over a century of tradition.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side have not won a match since sealing an eighth consecutive Scudetto, being held to 1-1 draws in their last two games against Inter Milan and Torino.

Roma needed a win after their Champions League rivals Atalanta, AC Milan, Torino and Lazio all won their games this weekend. Juve and Napoli, who won 2-1 at SPAL, have already booked their berths in next season’s elite European berths with two places remaining.

Roma moved back into sixth spot, a point provisionally behind fourth-placed Inter Milan and three points behind third-place Atalanta. Milan are above Roma thanks to a better head-to-head record, which is the tiebreaker in Italy.

Torino captain Andrea Belotti scored a brace including the winner with a spectacular overhead kick in a come from behind 3-2 win over ten-man Sassuolo.

The three points could also be vital for Torino’s Europa League hopes, with their final two games against struggling Empoli and Lazio.

Udinese and Empoli both got what could prove to be crucial wins in their fight to avoid relegation.

Empoli won 2-1 at Sampdoria for their first away victory of the season, while Udinese beat already relegated Frosinone 3-1.

Empoli remained in the relegation zone but are one point below Genoa and two points below Udinese and Bologna.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2019