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Milan on Brink of Historic Title as Thrilling Season Heads Down to the Wire

AC Milan are one point away from celebrating their first league title in 11 years MIGUEL MEDINA AFP/File
AC Milan are one point away from celebrating their first league title in 11 years MIGUEL MEDINA AFP/File
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Milan on Brink of Historic Title as Thrilling Season Heads Down to the Wire

AC Milan are one point away from celebrating their first league title in 11 years MIGUEL MEDINA AFP/File
AC Milan are one point away from celebrating their first league title in 11 years MIGUEL MEDINA AFP/File

Europe's most dramatic title race will finally reach its climax on Sunday when AC Milan take the field at Sassuolo ready to end an 11-year Scudetto drought and announce their return to the top table.

Stefano Pioli's side are two points ahead of reigning champions Inter Milan and only need to draw to claim their first league crown since 2011, and they look almost guaranteed to do so after a hugely impressive run-in, AFP said.

Consecutive wins over tricky opponents Lazio, Fiorentina and Verona were followed up by last weekend's 2-0 home victory over Atalanta, after which a packed San Siro celebrated as though the title was already theirs.

Pioli has an almost full squad to pick from against a team which beat Milan 3-1 earlier in the season and will have the backing of an estimated 18,000 fans at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia for a title party which will then spill back into Milan.

The problem is where they will be able to celebrate. Milan's iconic Piazza del Duomo is where fans gather for triumphs but on Saturday night the square hosts a concert and a huge stage has been erected which cannot be completely taken down before the end of Sunday's matches.

As of Thursday afternoon there was still no confirmed plan from the city's public order bodies of when and where to hold celebrations, as the only other viable location is the San Siro and that will be where over 70,000 Inter fans will party should Milan fail at the last.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi still believes that his team can snatch the title and the 46-year-old has experience with last-day drama, pipping Juventus to the title 22 years ago when a Lazio player.

Two points behind Juve heading into the final weekend, Inzaghi was a scorer in Lazio's 3-0 win over Reggina which left his team top while fans waited anxiously in the stands for news from Perugia.

A powerful storm had caused Juve's match there to be halted and when it restarted over an hour later Alessandro Calori scored Perugia's winner at the start of the second half, causing Lazio fans to pour into the streets of Rome to celebrate their second league title.

"We need to win and hope that they lose. But it's happened before and in football you can never take anything for granted," Inzaghi said last weekend.

The season won't even be over once the title is decided, as while either Milan or Inter fans celebrate overcoming their local rivals Salernitana and Cagliari will be battling it out to avoid the drop.

Davide Nicola's Salernitana are two points above Cagliari, who sit just inside the drop zone, and realistically must beat Udinese if they are to stay up after only getting out of the bottom three for the first time this season earlier in May.

Cagliari are at Venezia -- bottom and already relegated -- and will finish above Salernitana should the two teams finish level on points thanks to Giorgio Altare's 99th minute leveller in Salerno a fortnight ago.

Altare's bullet header means the two sides have an equal head-to-head record, so Cagliari's superior goal difference would keep them up and send Salernitana down.

Player to watch - Rafael LeaoPortugal forward Leao has stepped up to become one of Milan's key players this season and has been hugely important in the run-in.

The 22-year-old has either scored or set up a goal in every one of Milan's five straight wins which have guided them towards the title and opened the scoring last week to calm home supporters' nerves.

He is set to extend his deal with Milan -- which expires in 2024 -- in the summer as some of Europe's biggest clubs circle the exciting winger.

Key stats1 - Milan need a draw from their match to secure the title after coming out on top in their derbies with Inter.

10 - The number of weeks Milan have been top at the end of each matchday.

Fixtures (times GMT)Friday

Torino v Roma (1845)

Saturday

Genoa v Bologna (1515), Atalanta v Empoli, Fiorentina v Juventus, Lazio v Verona (all 1845)

Sunday

Spezia v Napoli (1030), Inter Milan v Sampdoria, Sassuolo v AC Milan (both 1600), Salernitana v Udinese, Venezia v Cagliari (1900)

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Verstappen Captures 4th F1 Championship after Mercedes Sweep of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 23, 2024 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the 2024 F1 world championship title REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 23, 2024 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the 2024 F1 world championship title REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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Verstappen Captures 4th F1 Championship after Mercedes Sweep of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 23, 2024 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the 2024 F1 world championship title REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 23, 2024 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the 2024 F1 world championship title REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Max Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship on Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen needed only to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to give Red Bull a fourth straight driver championship. The Dutchman started fifth but was already up to second by the 10th lap around the street circuit that includes the famed Las Vegas Strip.
Norris, who had to score at least three points more than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished sixth. Verstappen needed only to finish higher than Norris to win the title, which he did with two races remaining on the season.
He ended the race up 63 points over Norris with two events remaining this season.
“Max Verstappen you are a four-time world champion," team principal Christian Horner said on the radio. "That is a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement. You can be incredibly proud of yourself as we are."
Verstappen, only the sixth driver in F1 history to win at least four titles, sounded unusually emotional on the radio.
“Oh My God, what a season. Four times. Thank you, thank you guys,” he said. “We gave it all.”
The race was won, meanwhile, by George Russell who was followed by Lewis Hamilton in the first 1-2 sweep for the Mercedes drivers since 2022. Hamilton came from 10th on the grid — two weeks after a demoralizing race in Brazil — to capture his podium finish.
The duo crossed the finish line under a checkered flag waved by actor Sylvester Stallone.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished third for Ferrari as the constructor championship remains a tight battle between leader McLaren and Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, his teammate, was fourth. Red Bull had won the title that pays roughly $150 million in prize money the last two seasons but has slipped to third in the standings.
But that championship battle appears headed to next month's season finale in Abu Dhabi. McLaren has a 24-point lead over Ferrari headed into this weekend's race in Qatar after Norris and Oscar Piastri finished sixth and seventh in Las Vegas.
“Max deserved to win it. He drove a better season than I did, he deserved it more than anyone else,” Norris said. “Max just doesn't have a weakness. When he's got the best car, he dominates and when he's not got the best car, he's still just there always.”
Verstappen, meanwhile, made easy work of Norris after a season where the McLaren driver pushed him harder than he'd been challenged since Verstappen's first title in 2021.
“To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought would be possible,” Verstappen told actor Terry Crews, who moderated the podium news conference held in front of the Bellagio's famed fountains.
“It was a very challenging season and I had to be calm. I think this season taught me a lot of lessons and we handled it well as a team, so that of course makes it a very special and beautiful season.”
Verstappen, who is 27, won 19 races last year. He opened this season on a tear but a long winless streak from June until Brazil two weeks ago has him with only eight wins, his fewest since 2020.
Verstappen asked at the Bellagio what time it was, noting he was in Las Vegas and “I'm very thirsty.” He had a champagne celebration awaiting him.
Race-winner Russell, meanwhile, said he’d be skipping his scheduled flight home to celebrate the victory with actor Crews. He also twice had to sit down on the podium to wipe champagne out of his eyes.
Verstappen was cruising in third with about 20 laps remaining and not overly pushing when Red Bull urged Verstappen to be patient over the team radio.
“Max, just don't lose sight of our aim today, yeah?” he was told.
Verstappen wasn't interested in receiving any instructions.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm doing my race,” he replied.
When he later saw the Ferrari drivers behind him, he asked for instructions because of the constructor championship implications.
"Do you want me to try to keep them behind or what?" Verstappen asked of Sainz and Leclerc.
"I think you should, yeah," Red Bull told Verstappen.
He couldn't hold them off but it made no difference as his season was dominant enough to match former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel as four-time champions for the organization.
This was the second year of the race after last year's debut was a bit of a disaster in that locals were livid for months over ongoing construction, as well as traffic detours and delays, the inability to access many local businesses, outrageous price gouging by the tourism industry as well as LVGP ticketing, and then a loose valve cover that nearly destroyed Sainz's Ferrari minutes into the first practice.
It caused an hours-long delay for repairs, fans were kicked out of the circuit, and F1 ran practice until 4 a.m. — when it legally had to reopen the streets to the public.
This year has been far less hectic, in part because all of the infrastructure headaches were a year ago, but also that last year's race was spectacular. Despite all its speed bumps, the actual running of the race was one of the best of the F1 season.
Russell started on the pole ahead of Sainz, who wanted redemption after the valve-cover fiasco last year. He had to serve a penalty because his car was damaged in the incident.
“I was hoping Vegas had something to offer me after last year, but I will take a podium," Sainz said. "I was looking at every manhole, avoiding them this time.”
The race is the final stop in the United States for F1, which has exploded in American popularity the last five years. The trio of races in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Las Vegas are more than any other country.
After the race completion, F1 next week is expected to announce it will expand the grid to 11 teams to make room for an American team backed by General Motors' Cadillac brand. The team was initially started by Michael Andretti, who could not receive approval from F1 on his expansion application.
Andretti has since turned over his ownership stake to Indiana-businessman Dan Towriss and Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They would run the Cadillac F1 team that would likely join the grid in 2026.
The announcement of the American team did not come during the weekend to not derail from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is the showpiece of the Liberty Media portfolio.
The race drew 306,000 fans over three days.