Premier European football will return to Turin after all next season, with Juventus squeezing through to the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage on the last matchday of the season. AC Milan will join them in the competition.
Gennaro Gattuso did his old team and old friend a favour, as he oversaw a 1-1 draw for Napoli against Hellas Verona, which, in turn, meant that AC Milan and Juventus qualified for the Champions League next season. Napoli, consequently, dropped to fifth in the league table and will play in the Europa League although they will do so without Gattuso in the dugout. The Italian parted ways with the Partenopei immediately after the matchday – as announced by club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Napoli led Hellas Verona on the hour mark as their former player Amir Rrahamani scored the opening goal. However, Ivan Juric’s side hit back soon after, with Marco Davide Faraoni netting the equalizer.
Elsewhere, AC Milan took on Atalanta in their final match of the season. The Rossoneri’s last visit to the Gewiss Stadium had ended in humiliation, as La Dea had net five unanswered goals against them. Stefano Pioli’s side had come a long way from that embarrassment, though, and even led the league for a considerable period this term. As such, a return to Bergamo – while frightening – certainly didn’t dim their spirits.
In an end-to-end match where both sides created plenty, AC Milan took the lead. The Rossoneri put together a brilliant move with Theo Hernandez playing a one-two with a couple of his teammates. Hernandez was then brought down inside the box by the combination of Joachim Maehle and Cristian Romero, and the referee pointed immediately to the spot. Former Atalanta player Franck Kessie stepped up and slotted the ball into the corner perfectly to give Milan the lead.
Milan returned to the second half and were immediately on the back foot. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side began an onslaught towards the Milan goal but the opposition defence held firm. The Milanese outfit succeeded in frustrating their opponents, and subsequently, were awarded a second penalty late on into the match. Atalanta players had lost their collective heads by that point, which resulted in a sending-off for Marten de Roon. Kessie stepped up for the second time on the night and scored past Pierluigi Gollini to send Milan through to the Champions League group stage.
Juventus knew that anything short of a win would end their Champions League qualification bid. So it came as a surprise when Andrea Pirlo made the big call of dropping Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench for the Bianconeri’s most important game all season. It did not matter in the end, though, as the Turin outfit emerged victorious over Bologna and sealed their place in next season’s UCL.
Federico Chiesa gave Juventus the lead against Bologna in the sixth minute. The Italian smashed in the rebound from close range after Adrien Rabiot had hit the crossbar. The Bianconeri were two-nil up before the half-hour mark with Alvaro Morata getting on the scoresheet – his first of two on the night. The Spaniard had the simplest of tasks after Paulo Dybala had laid the ball for him on a plate.
Juventus scored their third goal of the match before the half-time interval. Three of their young stars combined to put daylight between them and the opponents – as Chiesa flicked on for Dejan Kulusevski, who played an inch-perfect through ball for Rabiot to score. Morata scored his second of the night in the second half, with a little help from the goalkeeper. Even though Bologna pulled one back late on, it didn’t halt Pirlo’s men from returning to the Champions League.
