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AC Milan, Juventus miss out on Champions League next season
The final day of the 2025-26 Serie A season delivered one of the biggest collapses in recent Italian football history, as both Juventus and AC Milan failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Instead, AS Roma and Como secured places in Europe’s top competition alongside champions Inter and Napoli. Como’s qualification marked a historic moment for the club, which will play Champions League football for the first time after defeating Cremonese 4-1 under manager Cesc Fabregas.
AC Milan and Juventus both entered the final day still fighting for a top-four finish. Milan lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari, while Juventus drew 2-2 against Torino in the Derby della Mole. The results sent both clubs into the Europa League and ended a streak that had lasted more than three decades.
GettyAC Milan’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric
According to TMW, this is the first time since the 1991-92 season that neither Juventus nor AC Milan will compete in Europe’s top club competition.
Since the European Cup became the UEFA Champions League in 1992, at least one of the two clubs has always qualified.
Milan’s defeat against Cagliari proved decisive. The Rossoneri scored first at San Siro but conceded twice and dropped out of the top four. Christian Pulisic endured another difficult ending to the season, having failed to score in Serie A since December 28 against Hellas Verona.
Massimiliano Allegri returned to Milan before the season with the objective of restoring the club to the Champions League, but the team finished outside the qualification places for a second consecutive year. Questions are now being raised about the futures of Allegri, CEO Giorgio Furlani, and sporting director Igli Tare.
Juventus also missed their opportunity after drawing 2-2 against Torino. Dusan Vlahovic gave Juventus a two-goal lead before Cesare Casadei and Che Adams equalized for Torino.
The Derby della Mole kicked off one hour later than the other Serie A matches after clashes involving supporters outside the stadium. According to Sky Italy, one Juventus fan suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries before the match.
Juventus supporters in the away section called for the match to be canceled and later left the stadium.
Luciano Spalletti’s side already knew during the match that Como and Roma victories had ended their Champions League hopes.
Roma secured their place with a 2-0 win over Hellas Verona, while Napoli and Inter had already confirmed their qualification earlier in the season.
HeavyCesc Fabregas Head coach of Como 1907
While Milan and Juventus struggled, Como completed one of the most remarkable stories in European football.
Fabregas guided the club to a fourth-place finish just two seasons after returning to Serie A. The former Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea midfielder joined Como as a player in 2022 before later becoming head coach.
“It’s up there with all my achievements for how it was done and with whom we did it,” Fabregas said after the victory over Cremonese. “Because we did it with very young players, almost all of them are under 23 years old. That’s amazing.”
Goals from Jesus Rodriguez, Tasos Douvikas, and Lucas da Cunha sealed the 4-1 victory, while the result also confirmed Cremonese’s relegation to Serie B.
Fabregas earned promotion with Como in his first season managing the club and followed it with a 10th-place Serie A finish before delivering Champions League qualification in his second full top-flight campaign.
The club, founded in 1907, previously experienced major financial issues before reorganizing under new ownership in 2017. Fabregas later became part of the ownership group as the project grew rapidly.
Serie A’s final standings also confirmed Europa League qualification for AC Milan and Juventus, while Atalanta earned a place in the UEFA Conference League.
Cremonese, Hellas Verona, and Pisa were relegated to Serie B after the dramatic final day.
Debayan Biswas Debayan Biswas is a sports writer at Heavy Sports covering NBA, NFL, Golf, and Soccer. His work has been syndicated on Yahoo Sports, Yardbarker, Flipboard, The Sun News, and The Olympian. Previously, he contributed to Athlon Sports, EssentiallySports, and PFSN. More about Debayan Biswas
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