Category: Italy Serie A

Simone Inzaghi’s thrilling tactics have seen Nerazzurri pull clear of their city rivals – and the rest of the Italian top flight

How else could it end but like this: tempers boiling over and the red card being shown to one player after another as Inter sealed their 20th league title with a win over neighbours Milan? Denzel Dumfries and Théo Hernández were first to be sent off after squaring up in midfield at the start of injury time. Milan’s Davide Calabria followed moments later for throwing a forearm into the face of Davide Frattesi at a corner.

And then the final whistle went, transforming a ruck into revelry as the rest of Inter’s players and staff rushed from the dugout to join their colleagues on San Siro’s pitch. They carried giant Scudetto shields displaying the No 20 against the colours of the Italian flag. The two Milan clubs began this season tied on 19 league titles apiece. Now Inter will be the first to affix a second gold star to their club badge.

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Internazionale clinched their 20th Serie A title by beating Milan in a feisty derby at San Siro, giving Simone Inzaghi’s side an unassailable lead in the standings. A goal from Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram in each half proved sufficient to secure Inter’s victory, with Fikayo Tomori scoring late in the game to reduce the deficit.

The match also featured three red cards in stoppage time, with Milan being reduced to nine men as tensions flared. Theo Hernández and Davide Calabria got their marching orders along with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries.

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• Müller double and Kane free-kick secures 5-1 win at Union Berlin
• Napoli miss out on chance to close in on Serie A European places

Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller scored twice on his 400th Bundesliga start and Harry Kane bagged his 33rd league goal of the season in a 5-1 victory at Union Berlin. Leon Goretzka and the 18-year-old Mathys Tel were also on target as Thomas Tuchel capped a successful week featuring a Champions League semi-final place and a comfortable win on the road.

Second-placed Bayern ceded the title to Bayer Leverkusen last week but have moved to 66 points from 30 matches, three points clear of VfB Stuttgart, who visit Werder Bremen on Sunday.

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Reaction after Roma player’s fall – and fans’ patience in stands – shows Italian football now better equipped for such incidents

It was easy to fear the worst when Evan Ndicka fell. The Roma defender was away from the play, with no opponents in his immediate vicinity, as he doubled over and then collapsed with a hand on his chest. Twelve years to the day after another footballer, Piermario Morosini, died after suffering cardiac arrest during a Serie B match, the dread of a possible repeat was immediate and overwhelming.

Daniele De Rossi was one of the first to see what happened, turning and yelling for the medical team. Roma’s goalkeeper, Mile Svilar, and an opponent, the Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca, were quickest to reach Ndicka and by their gestures confirmed that urgent treatment was required. Others signalled for quiet from the crowd and fans at the Bluenergy Stadium swiftly acquiesced.

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• Defender taken to hospital after second-half incident
• Roma’s match at Udinese abandoned; Inter held by Cagliari

The Roma defender Evan Ndicka is recovering in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during Sunday’s Serie A meeting with Udinese. The game at the Bluenergy Stadium was abandoned after 72 minutes with the score at 1-1 after the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international went down off the ball.

Ndicka was carried off on a stretcher after undergoing treatment on the pitch, but Roma later confirmed that the player was “feeling better” and “in good spirits” after being taken to hospital for checks.

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• Tuchel’s side win 2-0 but lose Coman for Arsenal game
• Juventus out of Serie A title race after draw with Torino

Bayern Munich struck twice in the second half to earn a 2-0 win over Cologne and bounce back from two straight league losses, delaying Bayer Leverkusen the title for 24 hours at least. Xabi Alonso’s side are 13 points ahead and poised to wrap up their first championship with a win over Werder Bremen on Sunday.

Bayern’s only hope of silverware this season rests with the Champions League and they host Arsenal on Wednesday in their quarter-final second leg, after the 2-2 draw in London last Tuesday. They suffered a serious injury blow against Cologne, however, with the winger Kingsley Coman taken off in the 50th minute and ruled out for several weeks with an adductor muscle injury.

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Internazionale took another step towards the Serie A title as a stoppage-time goal from Davide Frattesi secured a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Udinese

Five minutes into added time, Lautaro Martínez unleashed a low shot that Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye managed to tip onto the post but Frattesi pounced to slot home the rebound.

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Hired on a caretaker basis to the end of this season, De Rossi’s unique relationship with Roma gives him an obvious appeal

Daniele De Rossi insisted he had not yearned for these moments. Interviewed by Dazn before Saturday’s Rome derby, he gave us a glimpse of vulnerability he might not have allowed in his playing days. “No, this little bit of anxiety you have beforehand, I really didn’t miss that,” he said candidly. “But that’s the beauty of our sport and our city.”

More than 20 years have passed since De Rossi took part in this derby for the first time, coming off the bench in a 2-0 win for Roma. He played 30 more, and it is easy to see why some nervousness may persist. De Rossi endured some of the lowest moments of his career against Lazio, including a red card for punching Stefano Mauri in 2012 and defeat in this fixture’s only-ever major cup final at the end of the same season.

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• Fenerbahce concede Turkish Super Cup after walking off
• Juventus beat Fiorentina to end four-game winless Serie A run

Ajax’s disastrous season hit a new low on Sunday when they suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat to bitter rivals Feyenoord in Rotterdam, their largest ever loss in De Klassieker and the joint-fifth biggest defeat in the club’s history.

Ajax have been hit by issues on and off the pitch this campaign but while they were depleted by injury, few would have foreseen their capitulation as they managed one shot at goal compared to 30 for their hosts at De Kuip. Igor Paixao and Yankuba Minteh grabbed a brace each for the home side to go with goals for David Hancko and Quinten Timber, who made his Netherlands debut last month.

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• Florian Wirtz scores only goal for unbeaten Bundesliga leaders
• German champions slump from 2-0 up to lose at Heidenheim

The Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen battled past Union Berlin 1-0 on Saturday with a Florian Wirtz goal to equal a league record unbeaten run of 28 consecutive matches and all but secure their first league title with a 16-point advantage at the top and six matches remaining.

Xabi Alonso’s team, who have not lost in 41 matches across all competitions this season, can clinch the Bundesliga and their first trophy in 31 years with a victory at home against Werder Bremen next week. They are also set to break an 11-season stranglehold on the league by Bayern Munich, who have won every Bundesliga title since 2013.

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