MILAN, 25 May 2003 — Atalanta and Reggina must meet in a relegation playoff despite both winning on an exciting final day of the Serie A season yesterday.
Reggina won 2-0 at Bologna while Atalanta enjoyed a 2-1 victory away to AS Roma.
In the battle to avoid the final relegation spot, four teams finished level on 38 points but Modena and Empoli were saved due to better records in head-to-head games. Goal difference is not taken into account in the Italian championship.
Torino, Como and Piacenza had already been relegated.
Parma and Udinese qualified for the UEFA Cup at the expense of Chievo, who fell to a dramatic 4-3 defeat to champions Juventus despite a hat trick from Oliver Bierhoff.
Inter Milan finish second after they drew 2-2 with Perugia while a youthful AC Milan side lost 4-2 to already-relegated Piacenza.
Cristiano Doni put Atalanta ahead in the 27th minute but within three minutes Roma drew level through a header from young striker Daniele De Rossi. Carmine Gautieri got the winner for Atalanta ten minutes into the second half with a right-foot shot from the edge of the area.
While Atalanta had to nervously hang on to their lead for the second half it was a more comfortable win for Reggina, Serie A’s only southern club. Emiliano Bonazzoli put the Calabrians in front in the 13th minute and David Di Michele secured the win with a 68th minute header.
Chievo have occupied a top six spot through most of the campaign but their defeat to a weakened Juventus has left them without a place in the UEFA Cup.
With 20 minutes left, Chievo were trailing 3-1 to Juventus and were down to 10 men after Lorenzo D’Anna had been sent off.
But then two more goals from German striker Bierhoff brought the Verona side level only for Cristian Zenoni to grab an 88th minute winner for Juve.
Goals from Romanian Adrian Mutu and Emanuele Filippini gave Parma a 2-0 win at Empoli which ensured their place in the UEFA Cup alongside Udinese.
A penalty from Chilean David Pizarro and a strike from Czech midfielder Marek Jankulovski gave Udinese a two-goal cushion before Claudio Lopez’s late consolation penalty for Lazio.
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti rested all of his likely starting team for Old Trafford and with several youngsters handed debuts they fell to a 4-2 loss.
Leverkusen Safe, Stuttgart
in Champions League
In Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen escaped relegation and VfB Stuttgart secured a Champions League spot in an eventful final Bundesliga program yesterday.
A first-half goal from Turkey midfielder Yildiray Basturk presented Leverkusen with a 1-0 victory at relegated Nuremberg and enabled last season’s runners-up to hold on to 15th place in the 18-strong league — the first safe spot.
VfB Stuttgart climbed one spot to second with a 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg to gain direct access to the Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund, the outgoing champions, dropped one place to third after a 1-1 home draw with bottom club Energie Cottbus and will have to be content with entering the qualifying round of European soccer’s premier event.
Arminia Bielefeld finished third from bottom after a 1-0 defeat at home to Hanover 96 and will follow Nuremberg and Cottbus to the second division.
Bayern Munich, who secured an 18th title with four games left, lost 1-0 to Schalke 04. They end the season a huge 16 points ahead of Stuttgart and will chase a domestic double when they play Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on May 31 in Berlin.
Hamburg SV and Hertha Berlin sealed UEFA Cup spots with fourth and fifth-placed finishes and will be joined by Kaiserslautern, who qualify because they are in the cup final with Bayern — already in the Champions League.
Werder Bremen, Schalke 04 and VfL Wolfsburg will try to make the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup.
The final day’s big winners were Leverkusen, who collapsed since narrowly missing out on three titles last term but at least managed to stay up, and Stuttgart, the surprise team of the season.
Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi, this season’s revelation, showed Stuttgart the way on 12 minutes before Bulgarian playmaker Krassimir Balakov, playing the final match of his prolific career, sealed their victory from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute.
Cologne and SC Freiburg have won promotion to the first division.
Motherwell Celebrate Relegation
Reprieve in Style
In Glasgow, Motherwell celebrated their reprieve from relegation in style with a 6-2 thrashing of Livingston in their final match of the season yesterday.
A second-half hat trick by Scotland striker James McFadden, who could have been playing his last game for the cash-strapped club, capped a remarkable performance as Terry Butcher’s young side twice came from behind before running away with the match.
Well went into the match knowing that whatever the outcome they would finish the season in bottom place.But the threat of relegation was lifted on Friday when SPL chairmen rejected First Division champions Falkirk’s application to join the top flight.
In the day’s other action, Aberdeen won 2-0 away at Dundee United while Partick Thistle twice came from behind to clinch the points at Hibernian, an Alex Burns header four minutes from time clinching a 3-2 win. The teams in the top half of the table complete their season today with the destiny of the title still hanging in the balance.
Rangers and Celtic are tied on points and goal difference but Rangers have scored one goal more and have the advantage of playing Dunfermline at home while their rivals travel to Kilmarnock. Hearts, who are virtually certain to finish third and qualify for the UEFA Cup, play Dundee in the day’s other game.
Bournemouth Win Playoff
Final to Return to 2nd Division
In Cardiff, Bournemouth were promoted to the English second division yesterday after a 5-2 victory over Lincoln City in the division three playoff at the Millennium Stadium.
Bournemouth, who were relegated last season, went ahead for the second time in the match through captain Carl Fletcher — the first of his two goals — just before the break and then ran away with what had been a close contest.
Striker Steve Fletcher opened the scoring for Bournemouth with a well taken half-volley in the 28th minute, but Lincoln equalised six minutes later when gangly defender Paul Futcher rose to head home from a corner.
Carl Fletcher then put Bournemouth ahead again with a free header and, after the break, Stephen Purches finished off a superb end-to-end move to score the third before Garreth O’Connor’s goal gave his side a 4-1 lead before the hour was up.
Mark Bailey scored a consolation for Lincoln after 74 minutes, but skipper Fletcher’s second goal two minutes later put the match beyond doubt.
