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Juventus secured a place in the Champions League on Sunday by edging past relegated Venezia 3-2, clinching the final Serie A spot on the last day of the season by a single point ahead of Roma, who won 2-0 at Torino.
Manuel Locatelli’s penalty in the 73rd minute proved decisive in an entertaining match on the Venetian Lagoon, ensuring Juve finished fourth after a dramatic campaign.
The visitors appeared to be cruising to victory after Kenan Yildiz and Randal Kolo Muani scored within a short space of time around the half-hour mark, overturning an early goal from Daniel Fila for Venezia in the second minute.
However, Venezia, who needed a win to maintain their survival hopes, fought back when Ridgeciano Haps pulled a goal back nine minutes after half-time, temporarily moving Roma into the Champions League spot.
At that stage, Claudio Ranieri’s Roma were already two goals ahead thanks to an 18th-minute penalty from Leandro Paredes and a header from Alexis Saelemaekers seven minutes after the break, giving the capital club’s fans hope that Venezia might hold on.
But Locatelli calmly converted a penalty after Francisco Conceicao was fouled in the box by Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, securing Juventus’ return to Europe’s elite competition.
Ranieri, who announced his retirement from coaching, just missed out on guiding Roma to their first Champions League qualification since 2018, having steered the club away from relegation trouble following his November return.
Nonetheless, a Europa League spot is a solid achievement for Roma given their precarious position when Ranieri took charge, especially with local rivals Lazio missing out on European football next season after a 1-0 home defeat to Lecce, who ensured their own survival.
Lazio dropped out of the European places following that defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, while Fiorentina claimed the UEFA Conference League spot with a 3-2 win over Udinese.
Meanwhile, Venezia join bottom-placed Monza and Empoli—who lost 2-1 at home to relegation rivals Verona—in dropping to Serie B.
