MILAN, 17 May 2004 — Inter Milan claimed fourth place in Serie A and a place in the qualifying round for next season’s Champions League with a 3-2 win at Empoli yesterday.
Inter’s victory, with two goals from Brazilian Adriano, sent Empoli down into Serie B along with Modena, who lost 2-1 to Lazio on the final day of the Serie A season.
Perugia’s 1-0 win over already relegated Ancona gives them a chance of survival via a playoff with the eventual sixth placed team in Serie B.
Parma had to settle for fifth and a spot in the UEFA Cup despite a 4-3 win over Udinese with the outstanding Alberto Gilardino scoring all four goals.
Former European Player of the Year Roberto Baggio was given an emotional send off at the San Siro in his final game as Brescia lost 4-2 to champions AC Milan.
Marcello Lippi bowed out as Juventus coach with a 3-1 win at Siena.
Juventus will enter the final qualifying round for the Champions League along with Inter, while second placed Roma and ‘scudetto’ winners Milan go straight into the group stage. Parma, Lazio and Udinese will be Italy’s representatives in the UEFA Cup next season. Inter have had a habit of throwing away opportunities in spectacular fashion and another day of agony looked on the cards when Empoli scored through Stefano Lucchini in the 18th minute.
But Adriano pulled them level on the stroke of halftime, rising well to head home a free kick from Kily Gonzalez.
Inter went ahead in the 70th minute through a superbly taken Alvaro Recoba free kick shortly after the Uruguayan had come on as a substitute. Then Adriano produced a solo goal of rare quality, dribbling his way through the Empoli defense and rounding keeper Daniele Balli to make it 3-1.
Even then Inter were forced to sweat out the final minutes after Tommaso Rocchi’s left foot strike brought battling Empoli back into the game in the 83rd minute but it was too late for the Tuscans.
Modena also fought right until the end but Nicola Amoruso’s 84th minute penalty came too late after Bernardo Corradi and Brazilian Cesar had put Lazio ahead.
Perugia had looked doomed a month ago but wins against Roma and Juventus gave them a fighting chance on the final day and they took it with a 1-0 win over Ancona that will extend their hope until a playoff.
Two goals from Dane Jon Dahl Tomasson — both created by the outstanding Brazilian Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko’s 24th goal of the season and a well-taken 20-meter strike from Rui Costa ensured a winning end to the season for Milan despite two well-taken goals from Brescia’s Matuzalem.
Big changes are expected at Juventus following the departure of Marcello Lippi but the qualities of the current squad, hidden too often this year, were evident at Siena where a goal from Igor Tudor, a superb strike from Fabrizio Miccoli and a Marco Di Vaio effort ensured a 3-1 victory.
Larsson Finishes With a Flourish
In Glasgow, Henrik Larsson bowed out of Parkhead with two goals inside the last 10 minutes as Scottish champions Celtic ended the Premier League season with a 2-1 win at home to Dundee United yesterday.
It was the Swedish striker’s final match in front of the Celtic faithful, the prolific forward having announced he will be leaving at the end of the season.
