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Zlatan on the double as Inter clinch title

Inter Milan won their third straight Italian Serie A title with a 2-0 victory at Parma on Sunday.

Zlatan on the double as Inter clinch title

Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both goals after coming off the bench to secure the nerazzurri’s 16th Scudetto crown.

AS Roma’s hopes of snatching the title on the last day of the season faltered as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Catania, but Ibrahimovic’s double rendered their result meaningless anyway.

Fiorentina claimed the last Champions League qualifying position after finishing fourth following their 1-0 win at Torino.

Juventus had already made sure of third place.

AC Milan missed out and will play in the UEFA Cup next season after finishing fifth despite a 4-1 home win over Udinese.

Parma and Empoli went down to Serie B with the already relegated Livrono while Catania’s point was enough for the Sicilians to survive the drop.

Inter may have won the title but at half-time things seemed to be going against them and they looked like living up to their reputation as chokers.

Roma needed to win to keep their hopes alive and took the lead after just eight minutes courtesy of a stunning goal from Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic.

He took the ball from out on the right flank, beat three men with a combination of skill and pace and then fired a cross shot past Albano Bizarri and just inside the far post.

Inter now had to win to keep hold of their title but they struggled under the heavy rain during the first half.

Coach Roberto Mancini responded to the situation early in the second period by throwing on Ibrahimovic in a three-pronged attack alongside Julio Cruz and Mario Balotelli.

The Swede had not played since March 29th in a 2-1 home defeat to Juventus but he quickly adapted to the pace of the game and needed just 11 minutes on the pitch before making the difference.

He took a square pass from Dejan Stankovic in his stride, took two more steps and fizzed a low shot from 20 yards along the slippery surface and past Nicola Pavarini.

And 11 minutes from time, having just had a one-on-one opportunity thwarted by Pavarini, Ibrahimovic met a deep right-wing cross from Brazilian full-back Maicon on the volley to ease Inter’s nerves.

In Sicily, where Catania needed a point to survive the drop, Roma could not quite hold on and Jorge Martinez levelled matters late on ensure Roma’s title wait will go on for another year.

Inter finished the season with 85 points, three more than Roma, whose valiant late charge ultimately came to nothing.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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