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36 JUVENTUS have clinched their fourth straight Serie A title with a 1-0 win at Sampdoria on yesterday afternoon. Arturo Vidal scored in the 31st minute of the game to send Ju- ventus 17 points clear of second- placed Lazio with four games of the season left to play. The victory secured their 31st Scudetto in Massimiliano Allegri's debut season in the Bianconeri dugout. The Italian giants have scored the highest number of goals in the division -- 64 -- while also having the best defensive record with just 19 goals conceded. Allegri's side have won 24 games -- five more than next-best Lazio -- and lost the the least amount of any side, with three defeats. Two of those losses have come in April, with Juve falling 1-0 at Par- ma and 2-1at local rivals Torino. Many Juve fans were not able to witness the title triumph after being banned from both visiting Sampdoria and from the Biancon- eri's final two home games of the season. The trouble which overshadowed their defeat to Torino in the Turin derby had led to the Lega Serie A banning fans from attending both Saturday's game at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, as well as the subsequent two games at the Juventus Stadium against Cagliari and Napoli. Juve have officially won 31 Serie A titles, but were stripped of two titles as part of their punishment for Italian football's infamous Cal- ciopoli match-scandal of 2006. The nine-year investigation con- cluded in March with no sentences ultimately decreed. Juventus are now demanding compensation of €443 million from the Italian FA for damages they believe were caused by their relegation to Serie B, while they may also fight for the two league titles revoked to be reinstated. Sport maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 MAY 2015 FOOTBALL Juventus win fourth straight Serie A title Man Utd suffer third straight defeat, Pool beat Queens Park Rangers LIVERPOOL had taken just one point from their previous three matches and a banner was f lown above Anfield before the start of the game calling for manager Brendan Rodgers to be removed as manager. Liverpool then took the lead on 19 minutes when Rickie Lambert set up Philippe Coutinho to curl home the opening goal, but they were pegged back on 73 minutes when Leroy Fer volleyed home a corner. The Reds were given the chance to restore their advantage soon afterwards when Nedum Onouha fouled Martin Skrtel, but Gerrard saw his spot kick saved by Rob Green. However, after Onouha had picked up a second booking for a tackle on Jordon Ibe on 82 min- utes, Gerrard made amends for his miss by heading home Coutin- ho's corner. Manchester United lost 1-0 at home to West Brom yesterday to give rivals Liverpool hope for a top-four finish in the Premier League. Chris Brunt's 64th-minute free kick took a huge def lection off Jonas Olsson in the wall and beat David De Gea for the game's only goal. Robin van Persie saw his penalt y saved 10 minutes later and West Brom keeper Boaz Myhill stopped the Dutchman again with a diving save in the 90th minute. The loss was United 's third straight in the league and leaves them four points ahead of Liv- erpool for the final Champions League position with three games to play. West Brom moved to the brink of safet y from relegation on 40 points. Aston Villa eased their relega- tion fears with a 3-2 victory over Everton at Villa Park. Everton went into the game hav- ing won five of their six games in the Premier League, but they were down after 10 minutes when Christian Benteke headed home, and the Belgian striker fired home a second just before the break. Everton were given hope when Romelu Lukaku casually con- verted a penalt y after Steven Nai- smith had been fouled in the area, but Tom Cleverley restored their two-goal cushion shortly after- wards. Phil Jagielka reduced the arrears in the dying moments, but Villa held on for a victory that sees them move to 14th, ahead of New- castle on goal difference. That was after Leicester Cit y eased to a 3-0 victory over nine- man Newcastle as they boosted their survival hopes. Leicester, looking to bounce back from their defeat to Chelsea in midweek, were ahead inside the opening minute as Leonardo Ulloa rose to head home a Marc Albrighton corner. Newcastle, who went into the game on the back of seven straight defeats, found themselves two goals down on 16 minutes as Ulloa f licked the ball on for Wes Morgan to divert home. Newcastle showed signs of im- provement before the break, but they were 3-0 down in the 48th minute as Ulloa converted a con- tentious penalt y after Emmanuel Riviere was deemed to have pushed Marcin Wasilewski. There were no further goals, but Newcastle saw both Mike Williamson and Daryl Janmaat sent off as they found themselves drawn closer towards the relega- tion zone. Jordi Gomez struck twice from the penalt y spot as Sunderland re- kindled their survival hopes with a 2-1 victory over 10-man South- ampton. The Spaniard struck after 21 minutes and then again 10 min- utes into the second half after first Jose Fonte and then James Ward- Prowse, who was sent off for his pains, fell foul of referee Mike Jones with striker Danny Graham, the man causing the problems on both occasions. In the meantime, Sadio Mane had drawn the visitors level when he capitalised on keeper Costel Pantilimon's error, but the Saints were far from their best as they slipped to a defeat in front of a crowd of 39,613 at the Stadium of Light. Burnley face an uphill battle to preserve their Premier League status after their 10 men slipped to a 1-0 defeat at West Ham. Sean Dyche's side remain bot- tom of the table and now sit eight points from safet y with just three fixtures remaining after losing at Upton Park as Mark Noble con- verted a first-half penalt y follow- ing Michael Duff 's sending off. Swansea stole a march on Stoke in the battle for eighth place with a 2-0 victory at the Libert y Sta- dium. Ecuador winger Jefferson Montero's first goal in English football broke the deadlock af- ter 76 minutes before substitute Ki Sung-yueng settled matters in stoppage time with a firm sidefoot finish. The win extends Swansea's ad- vantage over ninth place to six points with three games of the season remaining and the Welsh club look on course for their high- est-ever Premier League finish. Berlusconi meets Thai businessman as club takeover edges near FORMER Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday more time was needed to seal an accord over a sale of a stake in AC Milan to Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol but said he could re- tain control of the football club. Media and financial market speculation has been going on for months that Berlusconi intends to sell the club, which has been a cen- tral part of his media and political empire for the past three decades but which has seen its fortunes dip in recent years. Italian media reports say Bee is offering 500 million euros (370 million sterling) for a 51 percent stake in Milan, joining a series of other foreign tycoons who have bought some of the most prestig- ious European football clubs in recent years. "My main concern is to give Mi- lan fans the guarantee that the new season will ensure a future that matches the heights of the glori- ous past," Berlusconi told reporters outside the Milan hotel where the two held their second meeting this week. Seven times European cham- pions AC Milan remains one of Italy's most glamorous clubs but it has lost some of its shine in recent years. It won the most recent of its 18 Serie A championships in 2011, racked up debts of 250 million eu- ros and made a loss of 91 million euros last year. Berlusconi said Bee, whom he met at his sumptuous villa near Milan on Wednesday, was "a seri- ous person whom I respect". But he said no decision had been made on the size of any stake sale and he may retain control of the club. "Everything is under discussion, because there's still the possibil- ity that I will keep 51 percent," he said. Neither Berlusconi nor Bee of- fered any indication of how long it could take to wrap up a deal. "We are now going to work on some minor details and we'll take a little bit more time," said Bee, exec- utive director of south-east Asian private equity group Thai Prime Company Limited. The expected sale comes at the same time as an apparent with- drawal by the 78-year-old Berlus- coni from parts of his Mediaset television empire, which has faced growing headwinds in recent years as broadband internet has chal- lenged traditional broadcasters. As well as Milan, speculation has grown that he may sell Mediaset's pay TV operation, built around broadcast rights to Champions League football matches. Mediaset, Italy's biggest commer- cial broadcaster, was a key element in Berlusconi's 20-year-long domi- nation of Italian politics, while his image as a winner was burnished by the on-field success of his foot- ball club. Since being forced from office as prime minister at the height of the eurozone crisis in 2011 and being convicted for tax fraud in 2013, Berlusconi's political fortunes have faded. He has increasingly withdrawn from frontline politics and strug- gled to keep his fractious centre- right party Forza Italia united as younger rivals have emerged to challenge his leadership.