Birthday boy Bonucci puts Juve on brink of Champions League with brace

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Leonardo Bonucci celebrated his 35th birthday by putting Juve on the brink of Champions League football with a double in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Venezia which also dealt a huge blow to the survival hopes of Serie A’s bottom team.

Italy defender Bonucci struck in each half at the Allianz Stadium to put Juve 10 points clear of fifth-placed Lazio, who currently occupy the Europa League spot, while Roma are a further point back in sixth ahead of their home match with Bologna later on Sunday.

Anything but a win for Jose Mourinho’s Roma will confirm Juve’s place in Europe’s top club competition with three matches of the season remaining.

Spirited Venezia deservedly levelled in the 71st minute through a superb Mattia Aramu strike.

However, Bonucci bundled in the winner five minutes later to consign Andrea Soncin’s team to their ninth straight defeat.

The away side, who sacked coach Paolo Zanetti on Wednesday, are six points behind Cagliari who sit just outside the relegation zone following their home defeat to Verona on Saturday.

They have a game in hand but that comes on Thursday at in-form Salernitana, who are making a bold bid to retain their place in Serie A off the back of three straight wins and are at Atalanta on Monday night.