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Napoli in the Champions League, AC Milan almost there

Pescara v AC Milan - Serie A

PESCARA, ITALY - MAY 08: Sulley Ali Muntari (C) with his teammates of AC Milan celebrates after scoring the second team’s goal during the Serie A match between Pescara and AC Milan at Adriatico Stadium on May 8, 2013 in Pescara, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

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Napoli secured second place in the Serie A table this season by defeating Bologna 3-0, locking in their place in the Champions League group stage next season in the process.

It’s an emphatic return after missing out on this season’s competition for Napoli.

The Partenopei last made Europe’s most prestigous competition in the 2011/2012 season, finishing second to Bayern Munich in Group A before falling 5-4 on aggregate to Chelsea in the knockout stage’s first round. They missed out last season by 3 points, finishing 5th in the table.

Meanwhile A.C. Milan kept their distance from Fiorentina as the Rossoneri defeated already-relegated Pescara 4-0 thanks to a brace from Mario Balotelli. Since coming over from Manchester City, the outspoken Balotelli has now scored 11 goals in 11 matches, the most of anyone in Serie A over that time period.

Fiorentina, four points back of Milan in 4th, defeated Siena 1-0 to keep pace, but with just two matches remaining in the season their fate now heavily relies on Milan dropping points at the death.