AC Milan Wins their First Scudetto in Eleven Years.
AC Milan Wins their First Scudetto in Eleven Years.
AC Milan won their first Italian Serie A title in 11 years with a 3-0 final-day victory over Sassuolo on Sunday, with Olivier Giroud’s double and Franck Kessie’s goal clinching the Scudetto.
Stefano Pioli’s team knew that a point would be enough to finish first ahead of Inter Milan in the last round of matches, but following Giroud’s goal in the 17th minute, a 19th Serie A title never looked in question.
After further excellent work from Rafael Leao, Giroud added a second in the 32nd minute to put Pioli’s side on pace for the trophy, without having to worry about how Inter were doing back at their shared San Siro stadium.
Milan showed no mercy, as Kessie added a third four minutes later to virtually end the game, and the championship battle, before halftime.
It was party time in Emilia-Romagna after the interval, with thousands of Milan fans, who had plainly purchased tickets among the home supporters, cheering throughout the half as their team never appeared in danger of falling behind.
The final whistle was met with wild displays of jubilation from a club that had waited far too long for a Scudetto for a team of their stature, as they ended two points ahead of Inter, who had won at home against Sampdoria in vain.
Milan showed no early nervousness as they took the game to Sassuolo in the middle of the table.
Even before in-form Brazilian Leao snuck in down the left and squared for Giroud to shoot his side in ahead, his header was cleared off the line and Alexis Saelemaekers’ attempt was brilliantly saved.
The second was all about Leao’s tenacity and deception, as he deflected multiple tackles before setting up Giroud for his 11th Serie A goal of the season.
Kessie, who was, according to sources in Italy, playing his final game for Milan before joining Barcelona next season, then side-footed home the third to finish the job.
With a fourth goal off the bench late on, veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic felt he had put the cherry on top, but his header was ruled out for offside.
It didn’t matter because the festivities were already underway. Even Pioli, who has finally won his first senior trophy after 19 years as a coach, joined in with supporters singing “Pioli’s on fire” in the dying minutes.
As the match came to a close, Milan’s ecstatic fans flooded the ground, hugging players and staff at every chance, their quest for another league title finally ended.