Napoli blew up a great chance to secure third place in the Serie A league table and qualify for the next season’s UEFA Champions League following their 1-1 draw at home against Hellas Verona.
This result gave a huge relief to Juventus fans and team management. After beating Bologna by 4-1 the Bianconeri did their part by earning the complete three points. And the point loss of Napoli gave Andrea Pirlo’s side the fourth spot.
AC Milan beat Atalanta by 2-0 and finished in the second spot. Following the results of the last game of the Serie A season. Milan ended the season with 79 points in 38 games. Atalanta finished third with 78 points in 38 games. And Juventus finished fourth in head-to-head rule with 78 points in 38 games. But, Napoli finished fifth with 77 points in 38 games.
In the end, Juventus survived in the Champions League spot and saved the club from a huge financial loss. In an extremely tight top-four race Gennaro Gattuso’s side missed out on their chance to play in the Champions League for just a single point.
Napoli draw against Verona and Juventus beat Bologna in the last game of the Serie A season:
Juventus started the game with a bold move by Andrea Pirlo, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in this crucial game. Álvaro Molina and Paulo Dybala led the line for the Bianconeri.
The Old Lady of Turin looked fluid in attack. They played through the Bologna defence like they weren’t even there. The Renato Dall’Ara outfit didn’t have to play for anything and that reflected on the pitch in their performance.
Before the first half Juventus led by 3-0 thanks to the goals from Federico Chiesa, Morata and Adrien Rabiot. In the second half, Morata scored his second and fourth for the team. However, Pirlo’s men could not keep the clean sheet following a late goal by Riccardo Orsolini.
Napoli had the chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in their hands. They only had to win at home against a struggling Hellas Verona side, but they fell short of the mark.
Gattuso’s side looked tentative in the first half and were unable to manage a single attempt on target. On the 60th minute mark, Amir Rrahmani gave the crucial lead for Gli Azzurri.
But, they could not hold on to the lead for long and concede the equaliser. Napoli couldn’t find the winning goal in the rest of the remaining minutes and stayed in the Europa League.
On the bottom half of the Serie A league table Benevento, Crotone and Parma are relegated to Serie B.
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