Allegri sacked after season of 'unequivocal failure'

AC Milan have sacked head coach Massimiliano Allegri after failing to qualify for the Champions League, in a season the club’s hierarchy described as an “unequivocal failure”.

Milan fell from third to fifth in Serie A after a 2-1 defeat by Cagliari on the final day to miss out on Champions League football for the second year in a row.

Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma and Como - for the first time in their history - will represent Italy in Europe’s top-tier club competition next season while AC Milan join Juventus in the Europa League.

“For the majority of this season, we were in the top two positions in Serie A, with a credible shot at competing for the Scudetto,” read a statement from American investment group RedBird Capital, which bought AC Milan in 2022.

“The final stretch was completely inconsistent with the performance up to that point, with last night’s disappointing loss in the final game turning the season into an unequivocal failure.

“It is now time for change and a comprehensive reorganisation of football operations.”

Chief executive Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare and technical director Geoffrey Moncada have also left the club, the owners announced.

Allegri, 58, returned for a second spell with the Rossoneri in May last year, replacing Sergio Conceicao.

He previously managed the club between 2010 and 2014, winning the league in 2010-11 and the Italian Super Cup the following season.

Milan lost seven of their final 13 games in the campaign just ended as rivals Inter Milan won their second Scudetto in three seasons.

Como qualify for Champions League for first time

Como were playing in the third tier of Italian football in 2019

Cesc Fabregas’s Como qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history with a 4-1 victory over 10-man Cremonese on the final day of the Serie A season.

Como’s win, combined with AC Milan’s 2-1 defeat by Cagliari, cemented the fourth-place finish for Fabregas’s side, while the loss for Cremonese confirmed their relegation to Serie B.

“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 former Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Fabregas, 39.

Goals from Jesus Rodriguez and Tasos Douvikas put Como into a commanding lead before Jamie Vardy was fouled in the area and Federico Bonazzoli stepped up to give the home side a lifeline.

Fabregas’ side were awarded a controversial penalty with 20 minutes to go which resulted in three red cards for Cremonese players.

Midfielder Alberto Grassi was shown a straight red for his protests while Milan Djuric and David Okereke, both of whom were on the substitutes’ bench, were also brandished reds as temperatures boiled over.

Lucas da Cunha added a fourth late on to add some gloss to the scoreline and seal a historic place in Europe for a team in just their second season back in Italy’s top flight.

Going into the game, Como knew they needed to win and hope one of AC Milan or Roma dropped points to secure Champions League qualification.

Roma were victorious over 10-man Hellas Verona, and secured third place, but a 2-1 defeat by Cagliari for Milan ensured Como leapfrogged the seven-time Champions League winners into fourth place.

Three points for Roma and Como also ensured that another Italian giant, Juventus, would miss out on a Champions League spot.

Their derby against Torino was due to kick off at 19:45 BST, like the rest of Serie A, but was delayed for an hour for “public safety” after a Juventus supporter was taken to hospital following clashes with Torino fans.

Luciano Spalletti’s Juventus started the day in sixth and required a win, plus two of the three teams immediately above them to drop points if they were to achieve a place in the top four.

However, by the time it reached half-time in their game, they already knew their fate.

The victories for both Roma and Como ensured Juventus would be playing in the Europa League next season.

In the end, Juventus drew 2-2 with Torino, with Dusan Vlahovic giving them a two-goal lead before Cesare Casadei and Che Adams replied.

Town of 13,000 people spawns a Bundesliga team

Elversberg have spent much of their 119-year history in the lower tiers of German football

Elversberg will become one of the smallest clubs ever to play in the Bundesliga after securing promotion with a 3-0 win against relegated Preussen Munster.

Goals from Bambase Conte and David Mokwa put Elversberg in control after 15 minutes on Sunday, before Mokwa scored his second midway through the second half to wrap up a second-place finish.

With a population of about 13,000 people, Spiesen-Elversberg will be the smallest town to be represented in the Bundesliga.

Supporters spilled on to the pitch at the 10,000 capacity Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde at full-time as Elversberg celebrated a remarkable third promotion in the past five years.

Elversberg went close to promotion last season but were defeated 4-3 on aggregate by Heidenheim in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation play-off.

Before that match, rail operator Deutsche Bahn posted an image of a train with only one carriage, suggesting that Elversberg would not need a bigger service for the play-off.

The club, founded in 1907 and based in the small state of Saarland in south-west Germany, were playing in the regionalised fourth tier as recently as 2021-22 and until 2023-24 had never played in the second tier.

Their stadium is undergoing renovation in order to meet Bundesliga requirements, with capacity expected to increase to 15,000 by spring 2027.

Elversberg will be joined in the Bundesliga next season by Schalke, who earned the 2. Bundesliga title to return to the top flight after three years away.

The promotion-relegation play-off will be contested by Wolfsburg and Paderborn, who finished 16th in the top flight and third in the second division respectively.

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