MILAN — A club that was changing in a bar seven years ago is heading to Europe's elite competition. Como clinched a Champions League place on the final day of the Serie A season, completing one of Italian football's most improbable ascents.
The club, based on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, finished fourth after a 4-1 victory over Cremonese, leapfrogging AC Milan who lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari. Roma secured third place with a 2-0 win over already-relegated Hellas Verona.
The table did the dramatic work without asking anyone to dress it up.
Milan, loudly booed by the ir own fans at full-time, finished one point behind Como. Juventus dropped a further point back after drawing 2-2 at Torino — a match delayed an hour due to fan trouble.
A dream forged in a bar
"When I arrived four years ago as a player we changed in a bar," said coach Cesc Fàbregas after the match. "Today we're going to play in the Champions League. It's a huge achievement. This is a squad full of kids — the 15 players who played the most are nearly all under 23."
His post-match news conference was interrupted by celebrating players, who wheeled a giant speaker into the room and played the Champions League anthem as the y drenched the ir coach with water.
The club has never appeared in any continental competition across its 119-year history. Before the ir promotion to Serie A two season s ago, the y had been languishing in the fourth tier since 2019, when Indonesian tobacco billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased the club.
Antonio Conte's final match as Napoli coach was a 1-0 win over Udinese, securing second place behind Inter Milan. Conte confirmed his departure afterward.
Lecce beat Genoa 1-0 to confirm Serie A survival, finishing four points above 18th-placed Cremonese, who will drop to Serie B alongside Verona and Pisa next season.