Rome (AFP)

AC Milan knocked out Juventus Turin (3-0) to eject the Bianconeri (5th) from the Top 4 qualifying for the next Champions League, in an evening darkened by the exit on injury of Zlatan Ibrahimovic a few weeks before the Euro.

Turin president Andrea Agnelli, head bowed in the stands of Juventus Stadium, now risks not participating in this C1 that he dreams of replacing by the Super League.

His Juve, applied in the first half but lacking in confidence, was overwhelmed by the Milanese enthusiasm.

Brahim Diaz, the holder that we did not expect, and Ante Rebic, entered in place of Ibra, touched in the left knee, gave the logical advantage to the Rossoneri on two magnificent goals (45 + 1st and 78th).

Defender Fikayo Tomori scored a third goal which may be important since in Italy the teams, in the event of a tie in points at the end of the season, are separated by the special difference.

However, with this 3-0, Milan is doing better than the 3-1 of Juve in the first leg at San Siro.

Milan even offered the luxury of missing a penalty in the second half.

With its many duels engaged and its intensity, this shock has had the appearance of a Champions League meeting as the two teams hope to relive next season.

- Turinese awkwardness -

But Juventus was illustrated by a lack of ideas in the last twenty meters and a rare clumsiness, unable to catch the frame.

And when the Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma missed his aerial exit from a corner, his captain at the Azzurri and evening opponent Giorgio Chiellini barely put his head aside (30th).

Milan gradually gained momentum, like two tumbles from Theo Hernandez who set fire to the Turin defense (37th, 44th).

Brahim Diaz, who found Wojciech Szczesny's gloves on the first dangerous shot of the match (20th), justified his surprise start in the midfield by finding the skylight by taking advantage of an average exit from goalkeeper Bianconero (45 + 1st) .

VAR could not find fault with despite a hand claimed by Juventus.

Szczesny made up for it by deflecting the penalty from Frank Kessié (58th) awarded for a hand from Chiellini.

But there was nothing he could do about Rebic's jewel or Tomori's head afterwards.

Juventus will try to reduce the score at the end of the match but Paolo Dybala struck again on the side, like the black evening of the Turinese (90 + 2nd) unable to find the frame of Gianluigi Donnarumma, the one that some see leave Milan for Juve.

Milan struck hard but the battle is far from over, three days from the end, for the allocation of the other three tickets for the C1, with the champion Inter Milan.

- Heat at the bottom -

Milan (3rd) joins Atalanta (2nd) in second place, two teams who will explain each other face to face in the final round.

Naples (4th) is two lengths from this duo and Juve now three with Inter still to meet (37th day).

The dynamics speak these days for the Bergamasques, easily winners at the relegated (19th) Parma (5-2), and for the Neapolitans, also easy on Saturday against La Spezia (4-1).

"Two weeks are missing, a lot can still happen," however, coach Gian Piero Gasperini said.

The heat is also intense at the bottom of the standings to avoid accompanying Parma and Crotone in Serie B. Torino took an important point in Verona (1-1) and Cagliari emerged victorious from the hot duel for maintenance against Benevento.

The Sardinians went to win 3-1 in Campania and take 16th place with four points ahead of their opponent of the day who remains 18th and first relegation.

Among the leaders of Benevento, the penalty awarded in the last minutes, then refused after intervention by the VAR, which would have made it possible to return to 2-2, went particularly badly: very recovered in front of the cameras, President Oreste Vigorito castigated a decision aiming according to him to "kill the teams of the south".

© 2021 AFP