Juve reign following Milan mishap

Juventus FC coach Fabio Capello was today celebrating guiding the club to their third Scudetto in four seasons after AC Milan dropped out of the title race by drawing 3-3 against US Città di Palermo last night.

Lead lost
The Rossoneri needed to defeat the Sicilians to maintain the pressure on Juve but relinquished a 3-1 half-time lead to end the night four points behind the Turin side with just one match to play. Juve are away to AS Livorno Calcio tomorrow before concluding another successful Serie A campaign with a game against Cagliari Calcio at their Stadio Delle Alpi home next Sunday.

Fine run
Capello has now won titles with three Italian clubs - having done so previously with Milan and AS Roma - and Real Madrid CF in Spain, while Juve have won the championship in six of the last eleven campaigns with current Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi masterminding the previous five.

Ferrara milestone
Juve's veteran defender Ciro Ferrara also reached a milestone in winning his eighth Serie A crown, a record he shares with former Nerazzurri players Giovanni Ferrari and Giuseppe Furino. The 38-year-old won two titles alongside Diego Maradona at SSC Napoli before moving to Juve, where he will stand down from playing at the end of the season to join the club's coaching staff.

Regulars rested
Milan knew they had to beat Palermo to stay in the Serie A hunt but coach Carlo Ancelotti rested all his regular starters bar Hernán Crespo, Rui Costa and Filippo Inzaghi ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool FC in Istanbul. Still, Milan were on course for victory at half-time, leading 3-1 thanks to two Serginho goals and another from Denmark striker Jon Dahl Tomasson.

Ambrosini out
However, Palermo forward Luca Toni added to an own goal from Milan defender Alessandro Costacurta from the spot in the 77th minute and Simone Barone drilled in the equaliser soon after. Ancelotti said of his decision to field a weakened side: "I think it was the logical thing to do when we have a Champions League final to play." The coach will have a full squad to choose from in Istanbul with the exception of Massimo Ambrosini, the midfielder is out with a thigh injury.