Milan seal first Serie A title in 11 years but Pioli claims his medal was stolen
Milan clinched their first Italian Serie A title in 11 years after earning a 3-0 final-day victory at Sassuolo, with a double from Olivier Giroud and one from Franck Kessie sealing the Scudetto in style.
Stefano Pioli’s side came into the final round of fixtures knowing a point would be enough for them to finish top ahead of rivals Inter Milan, but after Giroud squeezed the ball home in the 17th minute, a 19th Serie A title never looked in doubt.
Giroud stabbed home a second in the 32nd minute after further fine work from Rafael Leão to put Pioli’s men on course for the trophy. There was no relenting from Milan as Kessie slotted home a third four minutes later to effectively put the game, and title race, to bed before half-time.
After the break, it was party time in Emilia-Romagna, with thousands of Milan fans, who had clearly purchased tickets among the home supporters, celebrating throughout the half as their side never looked in any danger of being pegged back.
The final whistle was greeted with wild scenes of celebration from the club who have waited far too long for a Scudetto for a side of their grandeur. But victory was soured somewhat for the coach, Stefano Pioli, when his winners’ medal was reportedly stolen. “They snatched my medal: if you can make an appeal I thank you, it is the only one I have,” said Pioli, according to La Repubblica.
Milan’s win meant that Internazionale’s 3-0 win over Sampdoria was academic, with all three goals coming in the second half. Nicolò Barella found
Ivan Perisic in the box and the Croatian opened the scoring after 49 minutes, to little celebration from fans who knew their rivals were already 3-0 up in their match.
The visitors then scored twice in two minutes through Joaquín Correa as the Argentine forward showcased a deft touch for Inter’s second before outmuscling the defence on a solo run to score a third goal on the turn.
Napoli, who were in the title race for most of the season but ended up in third place, won 3-0 at Spezia as forward Lorenzo Insigne played his last game for the club.
At the bottom, Salernitana completed their great escape despite being thrashed 4-0 by Udinese, after Cagliari failed to win at already-relegated Venezia.
The promoted side had been rockbottom a month ago, but a run of seven matches unbeaten out of nowhere meant they could secure survival with a win over Udinese. Gerard Deulofeu opened the scoring as the visitors burst their hosts’ bubble, leading 3-0 at half-time with Roberto Pererya’s fine solo effort making it four.
By that time, the home fans on the Amalfi coast had turned to their phones, following updates from Venice where a Cagliari goal would have meant relegation for Salernitana. The breakthrough never came despite numerous chances for the visitors, who drop into Serie B along with their opponents and Genoa.