Juve in the Champions League, Rome in the Europa League, Fiorentina in Conference. Spectacle and many, many emotions in the last Sunday of Serie A, with verdicts both in the top and bottom of the table. In terms of cups, as previously mentioned, Tudor's black and whites are smiling, having qualified in Champions thanks to the victory over Venezia, and Ranieri's Giallorossi, who were nevertheless the protagonists of a sensational ride. Lazio did badly instead, which has lost all European ambitions after the defeat against Lecce; Fiorentina di Palladino thanked him and, thanks to Udine's victory (2-3), he set his sights on overtaking at the photo finish.
So much to tell too in terms of salvation, Where Verona rejoices, Parma (3-2 in Bergamo) and Lecce: nothing to do, however, for Empoli (defeated 2-1 by Hellas) and, indeed, Venice. The Tuscans and the lagoon team thus reach Monza in the cadet championship, with the goal (or at least the dream) of returning immediately.
Venice – Juventus 2-3: Tudor trembles, but a penalty by Locatelli is worth the Champions League
Goal achieved! Juventus has Venice beaten 3-2 by Di Francesco and closed the championship in fourth place, behind Napoli, Inter and Atalanta. A hard-fought but fundamental success, which gave the Bianconeri qualification for the Champions League and, at the same time, condemned the lagoon team relegated to Serie B. Tudor chose Nico Gonzalez wide on the right and the Conceiçao-Yildiz tandem behind Kolo Muani for the last effort of the season. Di Francesco, chasing a feat, responded by relaunching Doumbia in midfield alongside former Juventus player Nicolussi Caviglia, relying on the Yeboah-Fila duo up front with Ellertsson between the lines.
The match heated up immediately: just two minutes and Venezia struck with Fila, good and lucky to deflect a low cross from Haps into the net. The Bianconeri tried to respond with a feat by Alberto Costa, who scored on the rebound from the edge of the area… but first he had adjusted the ball with his hand. The VAR did its job and Colombo disallowed it. The spark, however, came little: Star took advantage of a throw-in, skipped past Sverko and equalised with a dry left-footed shot. The goal gave Juve new impetus. Thuram almost made it 2-1 after an elegant exchange with Yildiz, then he thought about it kolo muani with a powerful right-footer to overturn the result. Venezia reacted immediately: Nicolussi Caviglia hit the post with a poisonous cross, Doumbia shot wide from a good position. The first half ended with Juve lowering their centre of gravity, trying to strike on the counterattack with Cambiaso and Conceiçao wide on the wings. In the second half, Tudor brought on Veiga for Costa and Juve almost scored the third with a couple of chances, but also conceded too many. And on the first real counterattack, Venezia punished: Doumbia opened for Haps, who took the defense by surprise and made it 2-2. The cold returned to Juve. Yeboah grazed the post, Yildiz responded but without success, Nico Gonzalez kicked high. The tension rose. Di Francesco made a change: Gytkjaer and Kike Perez came in. On the other side, Di Gregorio saved his team with a sensational save on Doumbia. Shortly after, the decisive moment arrived: Nicolussi Caviglia brought down Conceiçao in the area, Locatelli didn't tremble from the spot. 3-2 Juve. From there, a shower of substitutions: McKennie, Vlahovic, Oristanio, Marcandalli, Weah, Maric and Gatti in. Cambiaso, Kolo Muani, Doumbia, Sverko, Ellertsson and Conceiçao out. In the final, Venezia tried with all their remaining energy, but Juve gritted their teeth, resisted the cramps and took home three very important points.
Tudor: “Objective deservedly achieved! The future? Before the Club World Cup”
“We deservedly earned what we came here for,” he exulted. Tudor -. My future? We'll know soon, not after the Club World Cup. I'm happy, but we have to accept this life of a coach who is always in the balance. Stay focused on the journey, on growth, find the taste and pleasure of doing this job. If we hadn't won, I would have always felt like a good coach, but obviously when you win you're happier. This team needs to be complete first of all: with Bremer, Koopmeiners, Cabal it can compete with everyone. With two or three targeted additions you can win with everyone, all you need are people who give a bit of experience and weight. You need to reach an average age of 27-28, we're a bit green from this point of view... I can't say anything about the market, we'll definitely meet up with the club soon and we'll decide soon. Up until now we were all focused on the matches. Now there's the Club World Cup, but my future will be decided first, it wouldn't be a good idea to go there with a coach who isn't sure about his future or who knows he won't be any more...".
Torino – Roma 0-2: Ranieri conquers the Europa League with Paredes and Saelemaekers
It was November 14, 2024 when Claudio Ranieri picked up a Roma in pieces: just 13 points in 12 games, a team in full crisis and doubly shaken by the sackings of De Rossi and Juric. No one, not even the most optimistic among the Giallorossi fans, could have imagined that that team in shipwreck would come close to the Champions League, caressed for long minutes on the evening of the Olimpico Grande Torino. Ranieri he closed his extraordinary career in the most epic way possible: in front of Lazio, who remained out of all the European cups, and with an almost miraculous qualification in Europe. A milestone that was the result of incredible work: Roma collected 53 points in the last 22 games, recovering 11 from that Juve who in the end held on to fourth place by just one, miserable point. The match against Torino immediately went downhill: at 18' it was already virtually over. Di Bello awarded a penalty for a naive stamp by Dembélé on Saelemaekers and Paredes he didn't tremble. A dry, powerful right-footed shot, just intuition from Milinkovic-Savic. Goal and Roma ahead. Ranieri surprised Vanoli with a decisive 4-3-3, but what really made the difference were the motivations. The Bull, already with his head on vacation and targeted by whistles, left the field open to an aggressive, lively, hungry Roma. On 2-0, arrived head first with Saelemaekers at the start of the second half, confirmed the Giallorossi's dominance. Soulé almost scored a hat-trick with a crossbar in the 65th minute, then Roma easily managed a finale that was little more than an exhibition. The Roma fans celebrated Europe and, with a little more gusto, Lazio's elimination from the cups. Those of Toro, on the other hand, also suffered the final insult: Juve in the Champions League, and a season that began with great hopes ended in total anonymity. Ranieri, meanwhile, said goodbye to football from the field with his usual elegance and a ranking that smacks of a masterpiece.
Ranieri: "Sorry about the Champions League, but we gave it our all. The new coach? Friedkin will say when he wants"
“I explained how we had to play 4-3-3 or when to go to 5 when they had the ball and with ours we went to 3 up front – he underlined Ranieri -. I always said that we had to fight until the end. It's a shame not to be in the Champions League and I congratulate Juventus but we are satisfied, we gave everything. Maybe in a few months or years I will think back on my career, at the moment I am still a coach, I recommend… I am happy and proud. I arrived with the team with morale at rock bottom, I spoke to the child they had inside to make them fight until the end. I didn't think I'd do these things, the fans made us feel their love. This means a lot. The new coach? I'm not saying anything at all".
Lazio – Lecce 0-1: Biancocelesti outwitted by Coulibaly, qualification for the cups fades away
No cup for Lazio in the next season: the Baroni's team lost 1-0 at the Olimpico against a tough Lecce, determined and finally safe. A very bitter evening for the Biancocelesti, who closed the championship with 65 points, tied with Fiorentina, but penalized by direct clashes. Lazio tried to take control of the game right from the start, but Lecce held firm: compact defense, high pressing and a lot of intensity. Rovella tried to shake up his team with personality, but Giampaolo's team had the best chances. And in the 43rd minute, Lecce struck: Coulibaly He recovered the ball in midfield, exchanged passes with Krstovic and beat Mandas with a surgical jab between the legs. 0-1 and freezing temperatures at the Olimpico. In the first half's injury time, however, the match changed face: Pierotti brought down Nuno Tavares on the counterattack, picked up a second yellow and left his team with ten men for the entire second half. Baroni responded by bringing on Pedro in place of Isaksen, and with the extra man Lazio changed gear. The Spaniard started the game, but Falcone put up a wall: saves, perfect exits and a lot of confidence to seal the lead. The Biancocelesti continued to push, but without finding any gaps.
At the end, the nerves exploded: Romagnoli reacted badly to a tackle and was sent off, leaving Lazio with ten men at the decisive moment. Lecce held on until the end and took home three golden points: they finished with 34 points, seventeenth place and safety achieved thanks to the simultaneous defeat of Empoli against Verona. For LazioInstead, the epilogue was very bitter: seventh, out of everything, with the bitter taste of a finish line that slipped away right at the last corner.
Baroni: “I am not looking for any kind of alibi, I am sorry for the fans”
“I am not the person who should talk about failure, I feel sorry for the fans, the club and the team for the bitter comment of Baroni -. I had told the team several times about the importance of this match, the final image is the one that remains. This image has tarnished the path taken by the team, I am saddened and disappointed by this, for our people and for the fans. I don't want to look for alibis, the thing that saddens me the most is that in the first half of the season we got 34 points and in the second half 31, a performance up to par today would have been enough, like the one at San Siro against Inter. We were slow in the first 45 minutes, we scored ourselves. I feel sorry for our people and for the players. The future? When the ball moves, you think about the pitch. There will be time to meet the club now that the championship is over. Right now there is a lot of pain for this match, then I will find calm and clarity, so as to analyze the future together with the club”.
