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Atalanta, Inter clinch top-four spots as Milan miss out on wild final day

Alessandro Sabattini / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Atalanta really did it.

A dramatic, back-and-forth final day of the Serie A season saw Gian Piero Gasperini's side secure an improbable Champions League berth for the first time in club history. Punching well above their weight with a fluid, attacking brand of football that made them the darlings of Italy's top flight, Atalanta closed out the campaign with a 3-1 victory over Sassuolo on Sunday.

They'll be joined in Europe's showpiece competition next season by Inter Milan, who, despite recent wobbles, got a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Empoli to pip bitter rivals AC Milan to fourth place.

Milan, who at times throughout the day held a top-four spot as scorelines changed wildly, were ultimately left on the outside looking in. Despite a 3-2 win over SPAL, the Rossoneri finished fifth, one point adrift of their San Siro roommates. It's a harrowing end to the campaign for Gennaro Gattuso, and one that will almost surely result in the manager being relieved of his duties in the very near future.

Roma, who said an emotional goodbye to captain Daniele De Rossi on Sunday, picked up three points as well, but their 2-1 triumph over Parma was only enough for a Europa League place thanks to results elsewhere.

Empoli, meanwhile, were relegated by virtue of their aforementioned defeat, as Genoa narrowly escaped the drop down to Serie B.

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