19th Scudetto: Sassuolo 0-3 Milan

Scenes of excited Milan fans travelling to Sassuolo greeted the players inside and outside the stadium.

A tie would be enough for the 19th Scudetto. As predicted the line up held little surprise with Krunic, Kessie and Saelemaekers starters and Giroud up top. Early minutes showed signs of nerves but nevertheless Leao, Giroud and Theo tested Andrea Consigli and Sassuolo.

A goal arrived in the 17th minute, the ball fell to Leao who easily beat the defender and crossed softly to Giroud at the penalty spot who in turn nutmegged a defender and goalkeeper to open the scoring.

Milan tested the hosts further and had several shots on goal, five in the first quarter of the match were reflective of how thew game was going. A season first cooling break seemed to disrupt the rhythm somewhat but a carbon copy goal arrived moments later when Leao beat the defender again and found Giroud in almost the same exact spot in the middle of the box. The Frenchman had his brace. Sassuolo seemed out of sorts and this was shown well when a third goal arrived. This time Leao found Kessie rushing to the box for possibly the Ivorian farewell Milan goal.

The 43rd minute was Maignan and Milan’s biggest test yet when Davide Frattesi headed on from a free kick. Milan’s keeper punched the ball out well, a reflex save.

The three goal lead at the half was much more than any fan could have expected.

Bennacer came on for Tonali to start the second. The pitch had several players slipping and this made for some nervous moments for both sides. The hosts seemed more composed overall. In the 59th minute Theo fast counter had Leao or Giroud coming close to scoring but the ball was behind the former. The defense, both Kalulu and Tomori, and pressing were holding out well when Sassuolo had the ball. In the meanwhile Inter had recovered from a goalless first half to score 3 against Sampdoria at the San Siro.

The game had slowed down considerably before the second cooling break arrived. Ibra for Giroud and Diaz for Krunic followed. Ibra scored what was to be the 4th but Leao (and Ibra himself) were offside in the build up. Florenzi came on for Saelemaekers and as the game entered its last 10 minutes Romagnoli came on for likely his final minutes as a Milan player – for Tomori.

Sassuolo tested Maignan twice in succession as the game entered the last five minutes of regular time. Calabria almost had Milan’s fourth in the 90th minute but his shot was well punched out.

The two minutes of added time elapsed as players were celebrating and the travelling fans made their way to the pitch after the full time whistle confirmed Milan’s 19th Scudetto, the first in 11 years.