Serie A Daily Report - 2026-05-25

AS Roma and Como claimed the final two Champions League spots on a dramatic last day, joining Inter and Napoli in next season's competition while AC Milan and Juventus missed out. Roma finished the campaign with a 2-0 win over Hellas Verona and extended a five-match league winning run, while Como beat Cremonese 4-1 to secure fourth place and their first-ever Champions League qualification.

The scale of the shake-up is enormous: Roma return to Europe's top table for the first time in seven years, while Como become only the 16th Italian club to reach the European Cup or Champions League. Cesc Fabregas has turned Como's rise into one of Serie A's defining stories, and Roma's late surge underlined how quickly the top-four race changed in the final weeks.

AC Milan dismissed Massimiliano Allegri after a 2-1 home defeat to Cagliari on the final day left them fifth in Serie A and out of the Champions League. Milan had been third going into matchday 38, but a late-season slide - just two wins in their last eight matches - cost them a return to Europe's elite for a second straight year.

The fallout was immediate and severe, with RedBird calling the season an 'unequivocal failure' and also removing CEO Giorgio Furlani, while reports said executives Igli Tare and Geoffrey Moncada were swept out too. The result also meant next season's Champions League will be the first since the 1992-93 rebrand without both Milan and Juventus, a major blow to Serie A's European standing.

Dead-ball situations played a decisive role in Serie A's European race, with set pieces helping Roma secure Champions League football and exposing AC Milan's defensive fragility in the final stretch. Goal's analysis framed the weekend as one where marginal gains became match-defining, as clubs chased the massive financial reward of Europe’s top competition.

The contrast was stark: Roma found a route upward while Milan were punished under set-piece pressure as their Champions League place slipped away. In a season decided by fine margins, the dead-ball battle helped determine who would play in the Champions League and who would miss out entirely.

The final day underlined a wider shift in Serie A, with Inter crowned champions, Napoli joining Roma and Como in the Champions League, and traditional powers Milan and Juventus left behind. The result marked a major break from the old order and highlighted how quickly the league's balance has changed.

Coverage of the season described Inter's 21st title as a campaign won with calm authority and consistency, while the collapse of Milan and Juventus showed how fragile the old giants have become. Como's rise added a fresh storyline to a league increasingly defined by contrast between stability at the top and disruption among the traditional powers.

AS Roma Women completed a domestic double, with Rinsola Babajide and Shukurat Oladipo helping the club win both the Serie A Women title and the Coppa Italia. The side finished top of the league and then beat Juventus in the cup final to cap a dominant 2025-26 campaign.

For Babajide and Oladipo, the achievement adds another landmark for Nigerian players in Europe and strengthens Roma's growing reputation in the women's game. Winning both major domestic trophies in the same season underlines a level of consistency that mirrors the men's side's late surge into the Champions League.

AC Milan are already being linked with a new manager after sacking Massimiliano Allegri, with reports saying the club has approached a Premier League coach as a possible replacement. The search comes after Milan's 2-1 defeat to Cagliari ended their Champions League hopes and triggered a full reset at the club.

Any appointment will be judged against the scale of the failure: Milan finished fifth after spending much of the season in the top two, then unravelled in the final weeks. The next coach inherits a squad and boardroom under pressure to restore Champions League football immediately.