Seasoned veteran Olivier Giroud reaffirmed his crucial role on Sunday as his decisive header guided AC Milan to a 1-0 victory over Juventus, securing a Champions League spot for the Rossoneri for the upcoming season.
This game was a head-to-head battle for the coveted Champions League place. Milan only required one point to lock in their position, while Juventus, grappling with a 10-point deduction, was desperate for a win to maintain their shot at a top-four finish.
The match’s lone goal came in the 40th minute when Davide Calabria whipped in a cross from the right. Giroud rose above Federico Gatti, landing a towering header beyond the reach of an overstretched Wojciech Szczesny.
With one round remaining, AC Milan, along with Napoli, Lazio, and Inter Milan, will participate in the next season’s Champions League. Roma, however, could still join them should they triumph over Sevilla in the forthcoming Europa League final.
In other matches, Napoli squandered a 2-0 lead and settled for a 2-2 draw with Bologna. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen scored a brace, boosting his season tally to 25 goals, four more than the second-placed Lautaro Martinez.
Also on Sunday, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s decisive goal propelled Lazio to a 3-2 victory over Cremonese. Lecce ensured safety with a 1-0 away win against Monza, while Hellas Verona and Empoli drew 1-1.
AC Milan beat Torino 1-0 on Tuesday to equal their best start to a Serie A season since 1954-55.
The Rossoneri opened their Serie A campaign with eight wins and one draw before Tuesday’s game and entered the San Siro having won five games in a row.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic only fit enough for the bench, Olivier Giroud led the forward line and scored the game’s only goal in the 14th minute, tapping in from a close range after Sandro Tonali’s corner was flicked on by Rade Krunic.
The away side came close to equalizing in the 85th minute but Dennis Praet saw his attempt smack the bar.
Milan continue to top the table with 28 points, three ahead of Napoli, who host Bologna on Thursday.
Also in Serie A on Tuesday, Salernitana won 2-1 at Venezia, and Spezia shared the spoils with Genoa in a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea scored four times in a stellar second-half display to dispatch Arsenal 4-1 and lift the Europa League trophy at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan.
The win in the all-English final gave Italian manager Maurizio Sarri a major trophy in his first season in charge and Chelsea a first European title since when they won the Europa League in 2013
After goalless first half, former Arsenal striker Giroud put Chelsea ahead in the 49th minute with a well taken header. The Blues doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Pedro diverted a cross from Hazard beyond Petr Cech.
In the 65th minute, Ainsley Maitland-Niles concede a penalty after colliding with Giroud and Hazard stepped up to score the resultant spot kick.
Substitute Alex Iwobi clawed a goal back for Arsenal but Chelsea restored their three-goal cushion in the 72nd minute after Hazard and Giroud exchanged passes before the French forward scored his second of the night.
After the match, the Belgian star confirmed that he was likely to leave the club this summer, amid widespread speculation about a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
“I think it is a goodbye but in football, you never know,” said Hazard, who was given an ovation by Chelsea fans when he was substituted in the closing minutes.
“My dream was to play in the Premier League. I did this for seven years for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe it’s time for a new challenge.”
By contrast, Arsenal have lost five of their six major European finals, with their only victory coming in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup against Parma.
Fresh from winning the first major title of his managerial career, Sarri said he was happy in his role, despite persistent speculation he is close to a return to Italy after a tumultuous season in London.
“You know very well that I love the Premier League, the level of the competition,” he told reporters. “I am lucky because I am in Chelsea, one of the best clubs in the Premier League, one of the best championships in the world,” he said.
Arsenal now face a third consecutive season outside the Champions League, which could hurt its ability to attract transfer targets in the summer.
“We need the same players, the same idea, maybe also to add some new players,” said coach Unai Emery, a three-time Europa League winner with Sevilla. “But it’s the same way we’ve done this year, to do one step more. I think next year a lot of players who played the first time this year with us can be better.”
For his part, Petr Cech – the veteran Arsenal goalkeeper who is expected this summer to return in an administrative role to Chelsea, the team he spent his best footballing years – said: “It’s disappointing to have lost the final and especially now.”
“It was the last game of my career and you want to finish on a high, but I had an amazing career,” he added, noting that ending the season empty-handed was unfair to Arsenal, which was improving fast.
Olivier Giroud has said he is happy to have signed a new one-year deal with Chelsea.
The striker said he feels at home at Stamford Bridge and is elated to have penned another deal.
During his time at Chelsea, the French forward won the World Cup with the national team and has scored some crucial goals for the Blues at the European stage which has seen them reach the EUFA Europa final where they will meet Arsenal (his former club) at Baku in Azerbaijan.
Giroud has scored 10 goals in the Europa League this season.
Giroud is this year’s tournament’s joint top scorer and is the first Chelsea player ever to reach double figures for goals in a single season of European football.
“I am very happy to sign a new contract. I really wanted to stay at least one more year – I have felt a part of the team, the family, since the beginning and hopefully there will be more trophies to come,” said the Frenchman.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia praised the striker adding that the player has grabbed his opportunities in the Chelsea shirt and utilised them well.
“We are very pleased that Olivier will be a Chelsea player for another season. Since joining us, he has at times had to be patient and wait for opportunities, but has still been able to make a positive contribution to the team.
“Whether it is his unselfish link-up play or his 10 Europa League goals this season, he has been a crucial member of the squad and we hope he will be able to pick up a second Chelsea winner’s medal in Baku.”
The striker joined the club during the January transfer window in 2018 from Arsenal and has so far made 62 appearances and scored 17 goals.
Chelsea are one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after a comfortable 3-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Pedro, Willian and Callum Hudson-Odoi helped the Blues beat Dynamo Kieve ahead of their second leg in Ukraine next week.
Pedro could easily have had a first-half hat-trick, while Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed good chances too and the hosts were also denied what looked like a penalty.
Kiev goalkeeper Denys Boyko also pulled off a string of fine saves in the first half to keep his side in it and Chelsea should have nothing to fear going into the second leg.
After saying in the build-up to this match that some of his players were physically and mentally tired, Maurizio Sarri made six changes for the Blues’ seventh game in 18 days.
Out went regulars such as Cesar Azpilicueta, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and in came Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Davide Zappacosta, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso and Mateo Kovacic.
Once again Hudson-Odoi had to settle for a place on the bench alongside Loftus-Cheek, while Ethan Ampadu was not even in the squad.
Despite the changes, Chelsea dominated possession from the off as Dynamo Kiev opted to sit incredibly deep.
The Blues duly took the lead after 17 minutes through Pedro, who danced down the left flank and, after a neat one-two in the box with Giroud, slotted the ball through the legs of Boyko.
Minutes later Pedro should have doubled his and Chelsea’s tally after Zappacosta’s cross picked him out, but this time he fluffed his lines from six yards.
There was a clear gulf in quality between the two teams and in truth Chelsea could have put the entire tie to bed before half-time.
Dynamo Kiev could not live with Giroud and his hold-up play was causing all sorts of problems, while Pedro and Willian ran riot out wide.
However for all their brilliant build-up play, Chelsea lacked a cutting edge as Pedro and Barkley both wasted good chances.
They were denied a strong shout for a penalty too when Pedro was bundled over by Tomasz Kedziora in the 30th minute.
But Dynamo Kiev survived that scare, mainly because VAR is not in use in the Europa League until the final, and somehow limped through to half-time only 1-0 down.
It was going to take something special to beat the goalkeeper again and it came from Willian as, with 25 minutes to go, the Brazilian curled a beautiful free-kick into the top corner.
Chelsea were now searching for a third goal to kill the tie and they got it in the final minute of normal time as Hudson-Odoi finished off a brilliant attack.
Stanislav Dragun nodded home Igor Stasevich’s free-kick for the game’s only goal just before half-time as BATE Borisov stunned Arsenal 1-0 in the Europa League last 32 at the Borisov Arena on Thursday.
Alexandre Lacazette had a goal disallowed early in the second half before being sent off for elbowing Aleksandar Filipovic.
A resolute Bate held on for the win, their first over an English side at home in European competition.
The Belarusian champions will now take a slender lead to Emirates Stadium for the second leg next Thursday.
It was no more than Bate deserved as Arsenal faded quickly after a bright start on a bumpy pitch and sub-zero conditions in Belarus.
Aliaksei Baga’s side were playing their first competitive match since December and doggedly held on to their lead in the second half.
Arsenal, in contrast, managed just three shots on target despite enjoying nearly 77% possession.
Unai Emery will have hoped the resumption of the Europa League would have given his side some momentum after an inconsistent few weeks.
The Gunners’ final Europa League group game against FK Qarabag in December extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 22 games. But since then Emery’s side have lost six out of 13 matches, going out of both domestic cups in the process.
Emery responded to that patchy form by naming a strong side for the game in Belarus, showing just two changes from the team that won at Huddersfield last weekend.
There was early promise as Henrikh Mkhitaryan drew a smart stop from Denis Scherbitski within 90 seconds. Further chances for Lacazette and Alex Iwobi followed, but the Gunners quickly deteriorated.
Bate Borisov, meanwhile, are effectively in pre-season having not have not played a competitive game since their final Europa League group match two months ago.
They showed little sign of rustiness, however, and grew in confidence as the game progressed, cheered on by a boisterous home crowd.
Most of their attacking play went through captain Stasevich, who delivered more assists than any other player during the group stages.
Meanwhile in Sweden, Chelsea increased their chances of qualifying for the second round with a 2-1 victory over Malmo in the Europa League first leg of their last 32 tie.
Ross Barkley poked in a curling cross from Pedro to score in the first half.
Before Olivier Giroud flicked in the second after Willian cut the ball back having beaten his opponent in the box.
Malmo ensured it was a nervy ending for Chelsea as Anders Christiansen slotted home in the 80th minute.
Victory eases the pressure slightly on manager Maurizio Sarri who said his “job was at risk” after Chelsea were thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Chelsea remain unbeaten in the Europa League this season before the second leg at Stamford Bridge on 21 February.