STADIO GIUSEPPE MEAZZA (Milan): The Scudetto remains in Milan but has now officially changed hands as Inter finished second in Serie A despite beating Sampdoria 3-0 on the final matchday, with their city rivals AC Milan thrashing Sassuolo to secure their first Scudetto in 11 years.
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Ivan Perisic and Joaquin Correa scored all of three Inter’s goals in the space of 12 minutes, giving their fans a bittersweet ending to the season.
The initial roars of encouragement from a full capacity Stadio Giuseppe Meazza left room for a surreal silence in many sections as news of Milan goals at Sassuolo came thick and fast.
The Nerazzurri had their lack of precision to blame for not scoring in the first half, despite repeatedly testing Emil Audero’s gloves, while Sampdoria went close with a right-footed effort from former Nerazzurri man Antonio Candreva.
The opener eventually came five minutes into the second half, as Nicolo Barella carried the ball into the box and played it to Perisic, who made no mistake to put the Biscione ahead.
Correa doubled the hosts’ lead a few moments later, as his right-footed curler left Audero helpless at the end of a beautiful one-touch combination also involving Perisic and Hakan Calhanoglu. The Argentine then completed his third Serie A brace of the season with a long run which saw him shoot against a defender, before making it 3-0 on the rebound.
The remainder of the game saw Simone Inzaghi give some playing time to the likes of Robin Gosens, Felipe Caicedo and local idol Andrea Ranocchia, who looks set to leave the Nerazzurri after arriving at the Giuseppe Meazza in 2011.
