Inter are Italian champions as Milan lose to Udinese

New Delhi: AC Milan went down 2-1 away to Udinese, officially handing their city rivals Inter their 17th Scudetto.

Udinese welcomed a Milan side aiming to strengthen their hold on second place in the table, and to avoid handing the title to their bitter city rivals Inter, who would be champions in the event of a Milan defeat. Meanwhile, the Friulani were looking for their sixth consecutive victory to keep their hopes of a Europa League spot alive.

The Rossoneri played in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Clarence Seedorf behind Alexandre Pato and Kaka up front, while Udinese played with their usual 4-3-3 system with Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella, and Antonio Floro Flores in attack.

First Half

The home side looked stronger in the opening stages while the visitors didn’t seem too motivated and looked complacent.

Chances were hard to come by, but in the 9th minute there was some danger for Milan’s goal, as Pepe sent in a good ball from the left to Gaetano D’Agostino, who tried a right-footed shot that went well wide of the target.

In the 15th minute the visitors threatened for the first time, as a long series of passes led to Pato heading the ball down for Massimo Ambrosini in the area, but the midfielder’s shot went wide from a good position.

Seven minutes later, the hosts were dangerous again as Pepe crossed the ball in for Quagliarella, whose header was very well saved by Dida, although it turned out that the striker was actually offside.

At the half-hour mark, Udinese went in front thanks to a debatable penalty, as Pepe played it forward to Floro Flores, who was fouled, at least according to the referee, by Paolo Maldini in the area. D’Agostino stepped up to take the spot-kick, and beat Dida with a precise shot that went in just under the crossbar.

After going in front, the Friulani were even more in control of the match. In the 35th minute, Quagliarella received the ball inside the area from Floro Flores, and tried to turn around for a shot, but Philippe Senderos managed to block it.

The last chance of the half came just before the break, when Kaka made a run to the by-line and played in a dangerous cross into the area that was cleared away with his foot by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.

The first 45 minutes ended with a deserved 1-0 lead for Udinese, which made Inter the ‘virtual’ Italian champions.

Second Half

During half-time Carlo Ancelotti decided to take off a midfielder, Mathieu Flamini, for a striker, Filippo Inzaghi.

Just a minute into the second half, Udinese were dangerous again as Pepe hit a free-kick given after a foul by Senderos, and sent the ball just wide of the target.

In the 49th minute, the home side made it 2-0, as D’Agostino sent in a corner that the Milan defence failed to clear, and Christian Zapata was on hand to poke the ball home from close range.

Milan just could not find a way to trouble the home side, who were definitely having an off-night, with Kaka also unable to add some spark. In the 58th minute, Inzaghi had the ball in the net, but the ‘goal’ was chalked off due to a clear offside position by the striker.

Seven minutes later D’Agostino, who was having a great match, made a run through the middle and took a shot on goal that forced a great save from Dida, who blocked the ball in two attempts.

With the addition of Ronaldinho and Inzaghi, Milan were slightly more dangerous going forward, although it also unbalanced the team somewhat. In the 79th minute, there was a big chance for Pippo as Ronaldinho played a nice through ball that was wasted by the striker as he fired it straight at Handanovic.

Five minutes before the end, there was another chance for the home side, as a corner kick found Quagliarella in a good position, but his shot was well saved by Dida, who looked in good shape throughout the match.

The visitors played one of their worst matches of the season, but managed to find a consolation goal deep into injury time, as Ambrosini hit a great header at the near post to make it 2-1. In the final seconds, there was also time for Quagliarella to hit the post with a great shot from outside the area.

Overall, it was a deserved victory for Udinese, who earned their sixth consecutive win and kept their hopes of a Europa League spot alive, while Milan will be disappointed with their performance after a period of good form. Inter are now mathematically unreachable for the Rossoneri and will be crowned champions of Italy.

Teams

Udinese (4-3-3): Handanovic; Isla, Zapata, Felipe, Pasquale; Inler, D’Agostino (85’ Obodo), Asamoah; Pepe (88’ Lukovic), Quagliarella, Floro Flores (73’ Sanchez). Coach: Marino.

Milan (4-3-1-2): Dida; Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini, Jankulovski; Flamini (46’ Inzaghi), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf (60’ Ronaldinho); Kaká, Pato (73’ Shevchenko). Coach: Ancelotti.

Goals: 31’ D’Agostino pen. (U), 49’ Zapata (U), 93' Ambrosini (M)

Booked: Handanovic, Pasquale, Pepe (U); Zambrotta, Maldini, Jankulovski, Senderos (M)

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