Napoli is in, but Serie A’s final-day Champions League math is still wide open

MILAN (AP) — Napoli secured a spot in next season’s Champions League but the other two places in Europe’s elite club competition could go to any of four teams in Serie A.

Scott McTominay, Amir Rrahmani and Rasmus Højlund scored to help Napoli to a comfortable 3-0 win at already-relegated Pisa on Sunday to ensure Antonio Conte’s team will finish in the top four of the Italian league, with just one round remaining.

AC Milan and Roma also won on Sunday to leave them level on 70 points in third and fourth place. Juventus and Como were two points further back.

Milan and Roma play Cagliari and Hellas Verona, respectively, in their final matches. Juventus visits Torino in the derby and Como travels to Cremonese.

Just like in the penultimate round, all those matches will kick off simultaneously.

Inter Milan won the Serie A title with three rounds remaining and will celebrate after its match against Hellas Verona later, its final home game of the season.

Pulisic returns

Christian Pulisic came on as a second-half substitute to help Milan to a crucial 2-1 win at Genoa.

Pulisic missed Milan’s last match with a lower-back problem but the United States forward recovered earlier than expected and was brought on in the 76th minute with the Rossoneri winning 1-0 thanks to Christopher Nkunku’s penalty.

Pulisic had an immediate impact, five minutes after coming off the bench, as he laid off the ball to Zachary Athekame, who drilled into the bottom corner from outside the area.

Johan Vásquez pulled one back for Genoa a few minutes later.

Tempers fray in Rome

Roma won the derby against Lazio 2-0, but there were brawls between the players after each of the goals.

Roma defender Wesley and Lazio midfielder Nicolò Rovella were spotted throwing punches at each other in the second brawl and both were shown red cards.

Gianluca Mancini twice headed in corners for the goals.

Elsewhere, Juventus was roundly jeered after losing 2-0 at home to fierce rivals Fiorentina, while Como held on for a 1-0 win over Parma to leave Cesc Fàbregas’ team still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League just seven years after playing in Italy’s fourth division.

Relegation fight

All 10 Serie A matches were taking place on Sunday, with the teams involved in the relegation battle to play later.

Pisa and Verona have already been relegated but Cremonese is just one point below 17th-place Lecce and safety and six below Cagliari.

Cremonese and Lecce visit Udinese and Sassuolo, respectively, while Cagliari hosts Torino.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Similar Posts