MILAN: AC Milan’s season ended in disappointment as a 2-1 home defeat by Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday meant they missed out on the top four along with Juventus, who drew 2-2 at Torino, while AS Roma and Como both won away to qualify for the Champions League.
Milan on Monday sacked coach Massimiliano Allegri after their dismal conclusion to a campaign in which they fell away in the title race and failed to achieve manager ’s objective of a top-four finish.
Despite Alexis Saelemaekers scoring for Milan in the first minute, the visitors turned the match around. Tap-ins in each half from Gennaro Borrelli and Juan Rodriguez left Milan out of the top four and back in crisis.
Allegri, who was appointed last May, took responsibility of the club not achieving their objective after the loss against Cagliari.
“Unfortunately, we cannot change the result now. When we lose five home games the way we did, we end up in this position, Allegri told DAZN.
“I don’t know what the reason is. We made mistakes, I made mistakes too,” Allegri added. “Certainly, I should have found the solution myself; I am the one responsible. We will need to be very clear-headed in evaluating the season properly.”
Milan ended with 70 points, behind Roma and Como, ending up in fifth place, while Juve finished with 69 points in sixth. Both teams will play in the Europa League next season.
Roma celebrated finishing third after Donyell Malen and Stephan El Shaarawy secured a 2-0 win at relegated Hellas Verona that took their side to 73 points and a place in the Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Cesc Fabregas’ Como eased to a 4-1 win at Cremonese to secure fourth place on 71 points and condemn the hosts to relegation alongside Verona and Pisa.
The achievement caps an extraordinary rise for the northern Italian club and their Spanish coach as they sealed Como’s first-ever qualification for Europe’s elite club competition two seasons after playing in the second division.
“It is a masterpiece from the whole squad: how they believed, how they respected all the work we wanted to do, they listened, they wanted to raise the level further when it had to be raised,” Fabregas told DAZN.
TROUBLE AT TURIN DERBY
The Turin derby was marred by crowd trouble as clashes between Juve and Torino supporters outside the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino delayed the kickoff by an hour.
Juventus led 1-0 at the break through Dusan Vlahovic, who then doubled his tally in the 53rd minute.
The hosts mounted a comeback with goals from Cesare Casadei and Che Adams in the 59th and 83rd minutes securing a draw.
ANSA reported that the violence in Turin left one fan in a critical condition, prompting Juventus supporters to demand the fixture be called off. When authorities decided to proceed with the match, many Juve fans walked out of the stadium in protest.
Atalanta, who drew 1-1 at Fiorentina on Friday, came seventh on 59 points and qualified for the Conference League.
On Monday, Napoli — who edged Cagliari 1-0 in their concluding match — announced the departure of manager Antonio Conte with a brief four-word statement.
Conte after the match announced his exit during a press conference where he and club president Aurelio De Laurentiis exchanged words.
De Laurentiis claimed that Napoli would have defended their league title had his squad not been depleted by fitness issues throughout the campaign.
Napoli struggled for a large part of the latter half of the season, with key players such as Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo sidelined for long spells.
“Without the injuries, we would have been the champions,” De Laurentiis said.
The remarks drew an immediate response from Conte, sitting alongside the president, who urged greater respect for Inter’s achievements.
“That probably would not have happened,” Conte said. “Inter’s merits need to be recognised.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like clinging to these things. We have to acknowledge others’ victories and show respect. If we want respect, we have to give it. Inter deserved to win the league, with injuries or not.”
Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2026