Lazio thump Sampdoria, boost Champions hopes as Benevento relegated
MILAN: Free-scoring Lazio thumped Sampdoria 4-0 in Serie A on Sunday to stay on course for next season’s Champions League while Benevento were relegated after one season by Crotone’s lastgasp 2-1 win at Udinese.
Headers from Sergej Milinkovicsavic and Stefan de Vrij put Lazio 2-0 up at halftime before Serie A’s leading scorer Ciro Immobile added two in the last five minutes to take his tally to 29 goals and Lazio’s to 83.
The top four qualify for the Champions League group stage next season and Lazio’s win kept them fourth with 67 points, behind AS Roma on their head-to-head record.
Second-half goals from Mauro Icardi, who took his tally to 26, and Ivan Perisic gave Inter Milan a fortuitous 2-1 win at Chievo which kept them fifth with 66 points.
Atlanta beat Torino by the same score to go sixth, pushing AC Milan down to seventh and out of the Europa League places after their shock home 1-0 defeat to Benevento on Saturday.
Davide Faraoni scored in the 86th minute to give Crotone a 2-1 win at Udinese, who slumped to a remarkable eleventh consecutive league defeat. Kevin Lasagna put Udinese ahead after five minutes but Simy levelled two minutes later.
Crotone are 17th with 31 points, one place outside the relegation zone, and are 14 ahead of Benevento who cannot catch them.
Earlier on Saturday, AC Milan’s European hopes took a knock with a shock 1-0 defeat against tailenders Benevento.
Benevento had earned their first ever Serie A point last December in Naples in Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso’s first game in charge when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli scored an injury-time equaliser.
But Saturday’s defeat at the San Siro is more devastating for the former European giants whose sixth position and Europa League berth is now threatened by Atalanta – two points behind.
“When you play without soul, you get embarrassed like this,” said an angry Gattuso.
“We have to apologise to the fans, because we wear a prestigious jersey and we can’t have embarrassing nights like this.”
Pietro Iemmello’s 29th minute strike was enough to seal all three points for the southerners, who were down to ten men after Cheick Diabate’s sending off.
It gave Roberto De Zerbi’s side just their fifth win of the campaign, and first away victory.
However, it merely delays their probable relegation from Serie A as they are still 12 points from safety with five games to play.
Franck Kessie came closest to an equaliser on the hour mark when he rattled the crossbar, with Patrick Cutrone also heading wide on 74 minutes.
Benevento’s top scorer Diabate came on in place of Iemmello after an hour but was sent off ten minutes before the end.
But still Milan could not take advantage of their extra man, becoming the first team to fail to beat Benevento this season.
“Today a little Benevento proved you can be great with heart and the desire to play football,” said goalkeeper Christian Puggioni.