Daily Times

MILAN: Hellas Verona will face Spezia in a Serie A relegation playoff after losing 3-1 at fourth-placed AC Milan on Sunday as Rafael Leao’s double and an Olivier Giroud penalty secured the points before Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement. Verona and Spezia, who lost 2-1 at AS Roma, finished the season with 31 points and now face a playoff, which has been introduced this season, to decide who stays up. “We played a good game but in the end, we could not stop Leao. We must restart and prepare for a fundamental game,” Verona manager Marco Zaffaroni said. “There will be emotional aspects to take into account but we want to go all the way. Where will the game be played? We still haven’t talked about it. We were only focused on this game. Now, we are ready for all the updates.” Milan secured qualification for a third straight Champions League campaign but failed to win a trophy after being knocked out in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite competition and Coppa Italia last 16 after losing the Italian Supercup to Inter Milan.