Leagues

Lombardy club Monza, owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, will play in Serie A for the first time next season after winning a promotion playoff at Pisa 4-3 after extra time on Sunday to secure a 6-4 aggregate victory.

Monza had beaten Pisa 2-1 in the first leg of the Serie B playoff on Thursday, but a thrilling second leg saw them fall 2-0 behind before levelling, only for a Giuseppe Mastinu goal for the hosts to send the tie into extra time at 4-4.

ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more

Luca Marrone and Christian Gytkjaer were the extra-time heroes for Monza, who held on despite having Eugenio Lamanna sent off.

“We fought for a year and we reached a historic milestone. Monza since [being founded in] 1912 had never been in Serie A. We got there today. It’s a wonderful thing for us and for all the citizens of Brianza,” Berlusconi told Sky Sport Italia.

Monza were in Serie C when Berlusconi’s Fininvest Group took over in 2018 and secured promotion from the third tier in their second season. They lost out in the Serie B playoffs last term.

Berlusconi will next season get the chance to see his team taken on Italian champions AC Milan, who the 85-year-old owned for three decades during their most successful period.

Monza will be the 69th club to play in Serie A and the 12th different side from Lombardy. Lecce and Cremonese had already secured their top flight spots in the regular season.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

The NWSL has more billionaire owners than ever. Is that enough to hit the next level?
Messi gets 5 assists, sets MLS single-game record
Sources: United won’t rush decision on Ten Hag
Spurs’ UCL hopes hit with loss to Poch, Chelsea
‘RefCam’ to be used in Premier League for first time

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *