The final round was a fitting end to a very entertaining season.
Standings implications. Inter won the battle of Olimpico and qualified to Champions League over Lazio thanks to the head-to-head record. Milan battered Fiorentina and held onto the sixth-spot, so Atalanta will have to go through the lengthy Europa League playoffs this summer. Crotone are the third relegated team after Benevento and Hellas Verona: SPAL, Cagliari, Chievo and Udinese all ended up winning, so they would not have avoided the drop even if they had prevailed against Napoli.
Confirmations. Patrick Cutrone once again showed his skills in the box, supported by a magnificent Hakan Calhanoglu, while Giacomo Bonaventura tallied his seventh score in the season. Arek Milik and José Callejon hit the target again for Napoli, both assisted by Lorenzo Insigne. Mauro Icardi converted a penalty. Roberto Inglese and Mirco Antenucci came through in vital games for their sides. Miralem Pjanic bagged another free kick. Iago Falque put the cherry on top of a marvellous season with a goal against his former team. Giovanni Simeone and Dawid Kownacki found the target in lovely fashions in losing efforts. Goran Pandev proved again to be Genoa’s most consistent scorer.
Guess who is back. Daniele Baselli had not scored since mid-November, while Alessio Cerci’s last goal was in December. Marco Tumminello had not put his name in the scoresheet since the beginning of the season due to a knee injury.
Flops of the round. The silly red card received by Senad Lulic played a big part in Lazio’s collapse. Gianluca Pegolo made a mess on a cross by Kostas Manolas. Fiorentina’s back-line was roasted by Milan. Gianluca Caprari caused a penalty with a handball and got sent off before half time. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mattia Caldara missed a penalty in the final games with their respective clubs. Juventus and Roma’s attacks took it easy on Verona and Sassuolo, Atalanta’s one lifeless versus Cagliari.
Surprise scorer. Udinese’s Seko Fofana and Cagliari’s Luca Ceppitelli netted their third goal of the season, Inter’s Danilo D’Ambrosio and Juventus’ Daniele Rugani their second.
Clutch goal of the day. Obviously Matias Vecino’s thumping header to send Inter to Champions League in the final portion of the Lazio clash.
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