The Japan Times - Como, Roma reach Champions League, Milan and Juve left in limbo

Milan's loss left the seven-time kings of Europe out of the top four after a calamitous end to the season.

Juventus also missed out on an eventful final day marred by fan violence that caused their 2-2 draw at Torino to be delayed by more than an hour.

Como's 4-1 win at Cremonese, who drop down to Serie B, and Milan falling to a shock home defeat was enough for Cesc Fabregas's side to cap their incredible rise from the lower leagues to Europe's top table.

Como finish the season fourth, two points behind Roma whose 2-0 win at already-relegated Verona ensured third place and an end to their long absence from the Champions League.

Roma have not played in Europe's elite club competition since being knocked out by Porto in the last 16 in 2019, and a top-four finish came following goals from in-form Donyell Malen and Stephan El Shaarawy.

Malen tapped in Paulo Dybala's brilliant low cross, which he whipped in after the Netherlands striker's penalty was saved by Lorenzo Montipo, while El Shaarawy sealed the deal in stoppage time of his last match for the club.

But even that achievement pales into insignificance compared to Como, who have never played in European competition in their history and were in the third tier of Italian football when acquired by tobacco giant Djarum in 2019.

"It's up there with all my achievements for how it was done and with whom we did it, because we did it with very young players, almost all of them are under 23 years old. That's amazing," said Fabregas.

Che Adams forced home Torino's late leveller as Juve finished the season sixth following a match that kicked off late for "public safety" after one of the Turin giants' fans was admitted to hospital following pre-match clashes with rival supporters.

Juve's draw was even more galling for Milan, as it meant that a point against Cagliari would have given Massmiliano Allegri's team fourth ahead of Como on head-to-head record.

- Milan disaster, Conte's farewell -

Milan started the day in third and looked set to reach the Champions League when Alexis Saelemaekers scored in the second minute.

But tap-ins in each half from Gennaro Borrelli and Juan Rodriguez left Milan out of the top four and back in crisis.

A paltry 10 points from their final 10 matches since beating champions Inter Milan left Milan, and owners RedBird, facing a summer which is likely to be full of changes.

However, Massimiliano Allegri said nothing about his future in the aftermath of a dreadful performance against a team with nothing to play for.

"Right now I'm disappointed and angry because we're out of the Champions League. No one expected that kind of performance but we have to accept it," said Allegri.

Napoli fans said goodbye to Antonio Conte during an uneventful 1-0 win over Udinese which gave their team a final position of second, 11 points behind new champions Inter at the end of the campaign.

Rasmus Hojlund, now a permanent signing after Napoli qualified for the Champions League last weekend, rattled in his 16th goal of a successful first season in Italy.

"It's been an honour, really special to coach Napoli... It's been two great seasons, an exceptional experience," said Conte, who is tipped to take charge of the national team.

Bologna's Vincenzo Italiano is the man most cited as Conte's potential replacement, while Napoli's owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has rejected a $2 billion offer to acquire the club from a group of investors led by Underdog Global Partners.

De Laurentiis saved the club from bankruptcy in 2004, after which they ended a 33-year wait for a league title in 2023.

That 2023 Scudetto, one of the biggest stories of the century in European football, was followed up by another last season under Conte.

K.Okada--JT