Milan edge Juve to secure top-four spot, Heidenheim earn last-gasp promotion
Milan secured their place in the Champions League next season with a 1-0 victory at Juventus as Olivier Giroud’s goal ensured a top-four finish in Serie A.
Fourth-placed Milan now hold a six-point advantage over fifth-placed Atalanta heading into the final round of matches. Juventus, who were docked 10 points for false accounting, sit in seventh place after a disappointing end to their home campaign.
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Milan took the lead five minutes before the break when Giroud steered home a header inside the box. A tired-looking Juve side could not find an equaliser despite a late scramble in the penalty area, and were greeted by boos as the final whistle blew.
“Clearly, the Champions League gave us much more than we expected, and then we felt sad to go out in the semi-final against Inter, but our journey there was more than anyone saw coming,” Stefano Pioli told Dazn.
“At the same time, we did not do as well as expected in Serie A, but we are in the Champions League for the third season running,” the Milan head coach added.
Lazio moved back into second place after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic struck an 89th-minute winner against relegated Cremonese. The Serb got his first goal of the game in the 37th minute, doubling the hosts’ lead after Elseid Hysaj’s early opener.
Cremonese hit back from 2-0 down through Pablo Galdames and a Manuel Lazzari own goal, but Milinkovic-Savic wrapped up victory as Maurizio Sarri’s side moved back above Inter, who beat Atalanta 3-2 on Saturday.
Verona remain in the bottom three after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 1-1 with Empoli. They are now level with Spezia on 31 points with one game each to play; Hellas visit Milan on the final day, while Spezia visit Roma, who face Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
In La Liga, Real Sociedad booked their place in the Champions League despite a 2-1 defeat at Atlético Madrid. Antoine Griezmann and Nahuel Molina were on target for Atlético, who moved back to within a point of Real Madrid in second, with Alexander Sørloth getting a late consolation for the visitors.
Real Sociedad players celebrate after securing their place in next season’s Champions League. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Fifth-placed Villarreal’s loss at Rayo Vallecano by the same scoreline, however, meant la Real could not be caught in fourth spot, and return to Europe’s top-tier competition for the first time since 2013-14. Raúl de Tomás and Isi Palazón struck either side of the hour mark for Rayo Vallecano, with Giovani Lo Celso pulling one back.
At the other end of the table, Espanyol were relegated after conceding a late equaliser to draw 2-2 at Valencia. Samuel Lino struck three minutes into added time to seal Espanyol’s fate after they had replied to Diego López’s opener with goals from César Montes and Martin Braithwaite.
Valladolid remain in the bottom three with a game remaining after drawing 0-0 with Almería, who are just a point above them. Cádiz boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Celta Vigo, and Getafe did likewise as they saw off Osasuna 2-1.
Barcelona extended their unassailable lead at the top of the table to 11 points with a 3-0 win over 10-man Mallorca at the Camp Nou. Ansu Fati opened the scoring in the first minute before doubling the lead after the dismissal of Mallorca’s Amath Diedhiou. Gavi wrapped up victory for the champions 20 minutes from time.
In Germany, Heidenheim sealed their first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga in dramatic fashion, coming from 2-1 down in stoppage time against Jahn Regensburg to win 3-2.
Heidenheim players celebrate after securing promotion with two goals in stoppage time. Photograph: Tom Weller/AP
With Darmstadt already promoted, the second automatic promotion spot would go to either Heidenheim or Hamburg, who got the result they needed with a 1-0 win at Sandhausen. At the final whistle, HSV fans poured on to the pitch to celebrate – only for Heidenheim to equalise in the 93rd minute through Jan-Niklas Beste’s penalty.
A draw in that game would have still been enough for Hamburg to seal their return to the Bundesliga, but their fans’ worst fears were realised as Tim Kleindienst got the Heidenheim winner in the 99th minute, to spark wild scenes among the away fans.
With Darmstadt losing 4-0 at Fürth, it also secured the title for Heidenheim, as they climbed to the top of the table for the first time all season. Hamburg, who have been in the second tier since 2018, have another chance for promotion in a two-legged playoff with Stuttgart, who finished third-bottom in the Bundesliga.
Frank Schmidt’s side are just the second club after RB Leipzig to climb from the regional fifth tier all the way to the top flight. They have done it without the levels of investment seen at Leipzig or Hoffenheim, and all under the tutelage of Schmidt, a former player who was born in the small Baden-Württemburg town.