REGGIO EMILIA: AC Milan won the Serie A title for the first time in 11 years on Sunday, defeating Sassuolo 3-0 to dethrone Inter Milan.
Milan swept aside their hosts in front of an army of away fans at the Mapei Stadium, needing only a point to secure the Scudetto. Olivier Giroud scored twice and Franck Kessie added another in the first half.
Inter, who beat Sampdoria 3-0 at the San Siro, ended two points clear of Stefano Pioli’s Milan.
The ‘Rossoneri’ returned to the top of the Italian game after years of bad squads and financial issues since their previous league title in 2011.
Pioli’s team dominated, winning their sixth match in a row and securing a title that looked like Inter’s to lose for much of the season.
They were boosted by a hat-trick of assists from promising winger Rafale Leao, who has matured this season and is apparently a target for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
In the 17th minute, Giroud demonstrated why he is the guy for the big event, scoring one of the most vital goals in Milan’s title defence.
Milan had already come close via Rafael Leao and Alexis Saelemaekers when Giroud was in the right place at the right moment to sweep Leao’s low pass through Andrea Consigli’s legs and send the crowd berserk.
After wilting in the face of a Milan attack, Sassuolo almost gifted Giroud the chance to score an almost similar second soon after the half-hour mark.
Leao was the provider once more, this time robbing Gian Marco Ferrari of the ball before sliding another low pass across for Giroud, who smashed in his 12th of the season and made it a party in the stands.
Four minutes later, another bad blunder by a Sassuolo player allowed Milan to relax and enjoy the festivities that were erupting around them.
This time it was Maxime Lopez who was robbed by Rade Krunic, with Leao running down the right flank and cutting back for Kessie, who smashed home the third to round off a faultless season ahead of his free agent move to Barcelona in the summer.
The second half was devoted to Milan’s celebrations, and despite some spirited Sassuolo play, it was just a matter of time before the away team won their 19th title.
