AC Milan’s turbulent season took another bitter turn on Sunday, as a 3-1 defeat to Roma officially ended their chances of playing in Europe next season.
Super Eagles winger, Samuel Chukwueze, remained sidelined due to a groin injury and did not feature in the encounter.
The Rossoneri now sit in ninth place on the Serie A table, trailing sixth-placed Lazio by five points with only one game left, making qualification for the Europa Conference League mathematically impossible.
Roma got off to a flying start with Gianluca Mancini opening the scoring in just the third minute.
Milan’s troubles deepened when Santiago Giménez received a straight red card in the 21st minute for elbowing Mancini.
Despite being a man down, Milan found an equalizer before the break through João Félix.
However, second-half strikes from Leandro Paredes and Bryan Cristante sealed the win for the hosts.
Earlier in the week, Milan’s last realistic shot at European qualification slipped away after a narrow 1-0 loss to Bologna in the Coppa Italia final.
That defeat marked the lowest point of what has been a disappointing campaign, during which new head coach Paulo Fonseca was relieved of his duties midway through the season.
His successor, Sérgio Conceição, is also expected to leave once the season concludes.
