Cesc Fabregas’s Como qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history with a 4-1 victory over 10-man Cremonese on the final day of the Serie A season.
Como’s win, combined with AC Milan’s 2-1 defeat by Cagliari, cemented the fourth-place finish for Fabregas’s side, while the loss for Cremonese confirmed their relegation to Serie B.
“It’s up there with all my achievements for how it was done and with whom we did it, because we did it with very young players, almost all of them are under 23 years old. That’s amazing,” said former Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Fabregas, 39.
Goals from Jesus Rodriguez and Tasos Douvikas put Como into a commanding lead before Jamie Vardy was fouled in the area and Federico Bonazzoli stepped up to give the home side a lifeline.
Fabregas’ side were awarded a controversial penalty with 20 minutes to go which resulted in three red cards for Cremonese players.
Midfielder Alberto Grassi was shown a straight red for his protests while Milan Djuric and David Okereke, both of whom were on the substitutes’ bench, were also brandished reds as temperatures boiled over.
Lucas da Cunha added a fourth late on to add some gloss to the scoreline and seal a historic place in Europe for a team in just their second season back in Italy’s top flight.
Going into the game, Como knew they needed to win and hope one of AC Milan or Roma dropped points to secure Champions League qualification.
Roma were victorious over 10-man Hellas Verona, and secured third place, but a 2-1 defeat by Cagliari for Milan ensured Como leapfrogged the seven-time Champions League winners into fourth place.
Three points for Roma and Como also ensured that another Italian giant, Juventus, would miss out on a Champions League spot.
Their derby against Torino was due to kick off at 19:45 BST, like the rest of Serie A, but was delayed for an hour for “public safety” after a Juventus supporter was taken to hospital following clashes with Torino fans.
Luciano Spalletti’s Juventus started the day in sixth and required a win, plus two of the three teams immediately above them to drop points if they were to achieve a place in the top four.
However, by the time it reached half-time in their game, they already knew their fate.
The victories for both Roma and Coma ensured Juventus would be playing in the Europa League next season.
In the end, Juventus drew 2-2 with Torino, with Dusan Vlahovic giving them a two-goal lead before Cesare Casadei and Che Adams replied.
