The Result Has A Second Meaning
MILAN — Como will play in the Champions League next season. That sentence would have sounded like a misprint seven years ago, when the club was sitting in Italy's fourth division.
Cesc Fàbregas' side confirmed their place in Europe's elite competition on the final day of the Serie A season, finishing fourth in the standings after a 4-1 victory over Cremonese. The win vaulted Como above AC Milan, who lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari, and Juventus, who let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Torino.
The trophy did not need much decoration; the season had already done most of the talking.
Roma secured third place with a 2-0 win at Hellas Verona, finishing two points ahead of Como. Inter Milan claimed the league title and will play alongside Napoli, Roma and now Como in the Champions League.
The club's transformation since Indonesian tobacco billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased it in 2019 has been startling. They bought Como when it was in Serie D, the fifth tier of Italian soccer, and immediately began rebuilding.
"When I arrived four years ago as a player we changed in a bar, today we're in the Champions League," Fabregas said after Sunday's match. "Today I spoke with two physiotherapists, back then we trained without a sports center."
The Part Worth Keeping
The squad is notably young. Fifteen players who featured most this season were nearly all under 23, a fact Fabregas called "a masterpiece from the whole squad."
Milan finished one point behind Como in fifth. Juventus ended a further point back in sixth, their season unraveling at the worst possible moment after leading Torino 2-0.
Antonio Conte's final match as Napoli coach was a 1-0 win over Udinese, securing second place. Lecce beat Genoa 1-0 to confirm Serie A survival.
Verona and Pisa joined Cremonese in relegated spots.