Juventus captured its second-straight Italian Serie A title with a 2-2 home draw against lowly Perugia on Saturday, giving the Turin team an unbeatable eight-point lead over second-place Inter Milan with two matches left.

　　French striker David Trezeguet and Marco Di Vaio netted the Juventus goals, while Perugia got its own from Fabrizio Miccoli and Fabio Grosso.

　　Grosso's equalizer came in the closing seconds at Stadio Delle Alpi and froze fan celebrations for a few minutes until news came of Inter's home draw with Parma at the San Siro, which clinched the title.

　　This year's championship was a record 27th for the Turin club, long owned by the Agnelli family of auto tycoons.

　　About 40,000 supporters cheered Juve players and waved Italian flags. "Champions! Champions!" they chanted.

　　Fans rallied in several Italian cities, waving flags and playing horns, as Juventus definitely is Italy's most popular soccer club.

　　Juventus lifted itself to 69 points, out of reach of Inter, which slipped out of con-tention with a 1-1 draw with Parma. Inter has 61 points.

　　The title was expected to boost Juve's morale ahead of Wednesday's crucial Champions League second-leg semifinal with Real Madrid. The Turin team must recover from a 1-2 first-leg loss.

　　Third-place AC Milan lost 0-1 at Roberto Baggio's Brescia to stay one point clear of Lazio, which downed Bologna 2-0 on the road.

　　Juventus, which rested key players Alessandro Del Piero and Lilian Thuram for the Champions League match, took several risks on fast counterattacks by Perugia before scoring the opening goal in the 15th minute.Trezeguet converted a penalty kick, for his eighth goal of the season, after Di Vaio was pushed by a defender as he was trying to reach a long cross from Mauro German Camoranesi.Miccoli, who's expected to join Juve next season, made it 1-1 10 minutes later with a volley off a pass from Brazilian Ze Maria.

　　Di Vaio, usually on the substitutes bench, put the home team in the lead in the 46th.

　　As Juventus tried to control play and defend its victory, midfielder Grosso kicked in the equalizer in the 90th, confirming Perugia as the bugbear of the Turin team.

　　The underdog squad of the Umbria region eliminated the Turin powerhouse from the Italian Cup this season and caused it the loss of the title with a last-round upset in 2000.

　　Juventus players celebrated with canned soft drinks in the dressing rooms. No champagne was uncorked.

　　"We can't celebrate now, we must think of Real Madrid," said Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved.

　　Coach Marcello Lippi praised his players' determi-nation. "We reached the top form at the right time, in the last two months," Lippi said.

　　Juventus, 20-9-3, still has the chance to improve last year's point total of 71 in the two remaining rounds against Reggina and Chievo.

　　In other matches on Satur-day, Chievo trounced Como 4-2 to stay in fifth place, four points ahead of Parma which was tied by Udinese at 50. Udinese downed Modena 2-1.

　　AS Roma downed last-place Torino 3-1, on two goals by its rising star Antonio Cassano; Empoli and Atalanta played to a goalless draw; Piacenza held Reggina to a 2-2 draw that left both teams struggling in the relegation zone.

　　Como and Torino are already mathematically relegated.