MILAN: AC Milan won their first Serie A title in 11 years on Sunday after beating Sassuolo 3-0 in Reggio Emilia to snatch the crown from local rivals Inter Milan.
Needing just a point to claim the Scudetto Milan swept their hosts aside thanks to an Olivier Giroud brace and another from Franck Kessie in the first half in front of an army of away fans at the Mapei Stadium.
Stefano Pioli’s Milan finished two points ahead of Inter, who beat Sampdoria 3-0 at the San Siro.
Fans partied in Milan and poured onto the pitch in Reggio Emilia as the ‘Rossoneri’ returned to the top of the Italian game after years of poor teams and financial problems since their last league crown in 2011.
Milan were imperious in winning their sixth match on the bounce and securing a title which for long tracts of the season looked like Inter’s to lose.
They were helped by a hat-trick of assists from exciting winger Rafale Leao, who has come of age this season and is reportedly a summer target for Paris Saint-Germain.
Giroud has struck some of the most important goals of Milan’s charge to the title and again showed why he is the man for the big occasion in the 17th minute.
He was in the right place at the right time to sweep Leao’s low pass through Andrea Consigli’s legs and send the massed ranks of Milan fans wild.
Sassuolo immediately wilted in the face of a Milan onslaught and practically handed Giroud the chance to net an almost identical second just after the half-hour mark.
Leao was again the provider, this time robbing the ball from Gian Marco Ferrari before rolling another low pass over for Giroud, who lashed in his 11th of the season and made it party time in the stands.
And it was another poor mistake from a Sassuolo player four minutes later which allowed Milan to relax and enjoy the celebrations kicking off around them.
This time it was Maxime Lopez who was robbed by Rade Krunic, with Leao bursting this time down the right and cutting back for Kessie, who smashed in the third to sign off in perfect fashion ahead of his move to Barcelona as a free agent in the close season.
The second half was dedicated to the Milan celebrations and despite some spirited Sassuolo play it was only a matter of time before the away side sealed the title for a 19th time.
Inter fans packed the San Siro in the hope that their team would pounce on a Milan slip-up but it was they who had more problems breaking the deadlock against a Samp team with nothing to play for.
A bubbling atmosphere slowly dissipated as news of Milan’s goals came in and there was also frustration at Inter’s inability to make the most of their clear dominance.
As so often this season it was Ivan Perisic who took matters into his own hands, calmly finishing into the bottom corner with his left foot after being nicely set up by a rampaging Nicolo Barella.
From there Samp gave up the ghost and two goals in as many minutes from Joaquin Correa just before the hour ensured Inter would finish with a win.
Home fans applauded their team off the pitch despite what must have been a painful way to lose their Serie A crown, with the hardcore in the Curva Nord chanting coach Simone Inzaghi’s name in a show of faith which is likely to be shared by the club.
After the title was decided on the last day the relegation battle is also going down to the wire with Salernitana and Cagliari fighting to avoid playing in Serie B next season.
Salernitana sit just outside the drop zone, two points ahead of Cagliari, ahead of their respective matches with Udinese and Venezia.
AC Milan win first Serie A title since 2011
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AC Milan win first Serie A title since 2011
- Fans partied in Milan and poured onto the pitch in Reggio Emilia as the ‘Rossoneri’ returned to the top of the Italian game after years of poor teams and financial problems since their last league crown in 2011
Man City fight back to end Anfield hoodoo and reel in Arsenal
- Victory was City’s first away to Liverpool in front of a crowd since 2003 and reapplies some pressure to Arsenal’s quest for a first title in 22 years
LIVERPOOL: Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time penalty earned Manchester City a dramatic 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday to reduce Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League back to six points.
City were heading for defeat at Anfield with six minutes to go before Bernardo Silva canceled out Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick to spark an incredible finale.
Haaland put City in front from the spot before the visitors had another goal ruled out and Szoboszlai was sent off in the same incident after a VAR review.
Victory was City’s first away to Liverpool in front of a crowd since 2003 and reapplies some pressure to Arsenal’s quest for a first title in 22 years.
Defeat delivered another blow to Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League football next season.
The defending champions remain down in sixth and four points adrift of the top five.
These two clubs have combined to win the last eight Premier League titles, but both showed the flaws which have opened the door for Arsenal to potentially end their long wait to be crowned champions of England once again.
Haaland has scored just once from open play in his last 13 games and an uncharacteristic lack of confidence from the Norwegian showed with the best chance of the first half inside the opening two minutes.
Silva’s clever pass split the Liverpool defense, but Haaland’s shot lacked conviction under pressure from Milos Kerkez, and Alisson Becker was able to save low to his left.
Haaland hooked another effort straight at Alisson among 10 first half City attempts without a breakthrough.
Guehi booed
Second half slumps have been a consistent feature of City’s season and the visitors again faded in the second period until a late flurry saved their title challenge.
Hugo Ekitike should have opened the scoring when he completely miscued his header just before the hour mark after a lightning fast Liverpool break.
Marc Guehi was relentlessly booed after his proposed move to Liverpool from Crystal Palace broke down on transfer deadline day in September.
City took advantage to swoop in last month when they lost two key center-backs to injury.
Guehi was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card when he dragged down Mo Salah just outside the box.
But it was City who were left fuming at the award of the free-kick which led to the opener when Ryan Gravenberch went down under minimal contact.
Szoboszlai scored the only goal with an outrageous free-kick when Arsenal visited Anfield in August and produced another stunning strike which clipped the inside of the post before finding the net.
However, the Hungarian went from hero to villain when City levelled six minutes from time.
Szoboszlai played Silva onside as he slid in to volley home Haaland’s header for City’s first second half goal in the Premier League this year.
Alisson then wiped out Matheus Nunes to concede a penalty and Haaland kept his cool from the spot to put City in front.
Pep Guardiola’s men still needed a stunning save from Gianluigi Donnarumma to tip behind Alexis Mac Allister’s deflected shot.
With Alisson remaining forward from the resulting corner, the Liverpool goal was open when Rayan Cherki took aim from the halfway line to roll the ball into an empty net.
However, Haaland and Szoboszlai’s grappling as the ball trickled toward the goal saw the strike ruled out, with a free-kick awarded to City instead, and the Liverpool player given his marching orders.
