Milan edge closer to UCL; Napoli finish second

Posted Friday, May 10, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Mario Balotelli was at the double for AC Milan on Wednesday night as they took another step towards securing Champions League football next season.

Balotelli has been in red-hot form since joining Milan in January and scored two more goals on Wednesday night as part of a 4-0 win at Pescara.

He smoothed the way for a comfortable night when he opened the scoring from the penalty spot after nine minutes.

Sulley Muntari and Mathieu Flamini put Milan out of sight before Balotelli secured his double just before the hour.

Milan remain in third and, with two games left, are four points clear of fourth-placed Fiorentina, who kept the fight up with a 1-0 win at Siena, who look set for the drop.

Gonzalo scored the only goal of the game meaning Siena, second bottom, have six points to make up in two games and need an almighty goal-difference swing to pull off a miraculous recovery.

But while Milan can dust off their passports, Inter Milan will be remaining grounded next season after their qualification hopes were dashed, meaning their 15-year run in Europe is at an end.

With the top five going into Europe and Inter unable to catch fifth-placed Udinese their season is over. Salvation cannot even come from the extra Coppa Italia place, as that will go to either Roma or Lazio, who beat them 3-1 on Wednesday night.

On a grim night for coach Andrea Stramaccioni, who can expect questions about his future, Inter were on the back foot early on as Samir Handanovic put through his own goal.

Ricardo Alvarez did get them level, but Hernanes (pen) and Ogenyi Onazi finished them off, with Freddy Guarin's missed penalty providing further misery.

At the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara three second-half goals allowed Napoli to see off Bologna 3-0 and seal a second-placed finish.

Marek Hamsic opened the scoring (53) and was quickly joined on the scoresheet by Edinson Cavani (pen, 63) and Blerim Dezemalli.

Juventus were crowned champions at the weekend and they showed why with a fine 1-0 win at Atalanta, who are now safe. Alessandro Matri got the only goal.

At the bottom, relegation still looms large for some clubs. While Siena may well be done for, Palermo, Torino and Genoa are scrapping to avoid filling the last spot.

The latter two, old friends off the field, played out a 0-0 draw that contained little incident on Wednesday night, and they are five and four points clear of Palermo respectively.

Giuseppe Sannino's side lost a five-goal thriller 3-2 to Udinese and realistically need two wins and a swing elsewhere to survive.

Luis Muriel got Udinese going before Fabrizio Miccoli equalised from the spot. Gabriele Angella responded, but Palermo gave themselves a chance again when substitute Abel Hernandez scored nine minutes from time.

Mehdi Benatia would strike a lethal blow to their chances, though, with a winner just two minutes later.

Those results also meant Sampdoria were safe thanks to a 1-1 draw against Catania. It could have been an even better result for the Blucerchiati, who led through Elio De Silvestri's first-half goal, but Nicolas Spolli earned the Sicilians a share of the spoils midway through the second half.

In the other game on Wednesday, Alejandro Rosi struck 10 minutes from time to secure Parma a barely-deserved win at Cagliari.

On Tuesday, Roma were beaten 1-0 by Chievo after Cyril Thereau scored the only goal of the game at the Stadio Olimpico in the final minute.

Wednesday's Serie A Results

Pescara 0-4 AC Milan

Atalanta 0-1 Juventus

Bologna 0-3 Napoli

Cagliari 0-1 Parma

Inter Milan 1-3 Lazio

Palermo 2-3 Udinese

Sampdoria 1-1 Catania

Siena 0-1 Fiorentina

Torino 0-0 Genoa