Como kept up their stunning bid for Champions League football on Sunday by beating relegated Verona 1-0 and moving to within two points of Serie A’s top four.
Tasos Douvikas rattled home the only goal of the game in the 71st minute at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi as Como moved up to fifth and piled pressure on fourth-placed Milan.
Como are now guaranteed at least a place in the Conference League, having never played in European competition, and were in the third tier of Italian football when acquired by the tobacco giant Djarum in 2019.
Cesc Fàbregas’s team will drop back down to sixth, the Conference League place, if Roma win at Parma later on Sunday. Milan host Atalanta in the day’s late match and could be level on points with Roma by the time they kick off at San Siro.
Also on Sunday night, Barcelona will seal the Spanish title if they avoid defeat in the home clásico against Real Madrid, while in France Paris Saint-Germain entertain Brest and can move to the verge of the Ligue 1 title.
Bakery Jatta, Luka Vuskovic and Fabio Baldé scored as Hamburg celebrated securing top-flight status for next season by beating the Europa League finalists Freiburg 3-2 at home. Hamburg, who returned to the Bundesliga this campaign after seven seasons in the second division, officially beat the drop last week with a big win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 1983 European Cup winners were in fine form again to defeat Freiburg, who scored two goals through Igor Matanovic. Freiburg could have secured a European spot with victory but will have a chance to reach the Champions League and win a first major trophy in the club’s history if they beat Aston Villa in Istanbul on 20 May.
With 14 minutes gone, Jatta opened the scoring with his first Bundesliga goal after a decade at the club, but Matanovic struck back two minutes later. The Tottenham loanee Vuskovic, 19, returned to the starting XI for the first time since early April, put Hamburg ahead again with his sixth goal of the season, before Baldé added another. Matanovic scored with three minutes remaining but Hamburg held on for a ninth win of the season.
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Later on Sunday, rock bottom Heidenheim can keep their slim hopes of beating the drop alive with a win away at Cologne, while Mainz host Union Berlin.
