AC Milan are one win away from securing their 19th Serie A title after they defeated Atalanta at the San Siro on Sunday.
Stefano Pioli’s side had to wait until the 56th-minute to break the deadlock when substitute Junior Messias sent Rafael Leao away and the attacker rifled home the opener.
A special second would follow when Theo Hernandez waltzed through the Atalanta defence to fire home and put Milan on the verge of a first Scudetto in 11 years following a vital 2-0 triumph.
Celebrations were put on hold by neighbours Inter, who clinched a 3-1 victory at Cagliari to ensure the title race would go to the final day.
Success for the reigning champions thwarted any potential Milan party with Lautaro Martinez hitting a brace.
Charalampos Lykogiannis had cancelled out Matteo Darmian’s towering header in the 25th minute for Inter before Martinez wrapped up the points with two second-half strikes.
Simone Inzaghi’s side are at home to Sampdoria next Sunday, while Milan travel to Sassuolo knowing one more victory will end their wait for another Scudetto.
A brace by Gianluca Scamacca helped Sassuolo win 3-1 at Bologna with Domenico Berardi also on target for the visitors.
Third-placed Napoli had beaten Genoa by a 3-0 score earlier on an emotional day for Lorenzo Insigne.
The prolific goalscorer netted a second-half penalty on his final appearance in Naples before he departs this summer to join Toronto FC.
Victor Osimhen and Stanislav Lobotka found the net for the hosts and defeat for Genoa means they are virtually relegated given their three-point deficit to Salernitana and their head-to-head record with the 17th-placed club.
In Spain, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla were both able to celebrate Champions League qualification on Sunday following a 1-1 draw.
A late Youssef En-Nesyri goal rescued a point for visiting Sevilla after Jose Gimenez had put Diego Simeone’s hosts in front.
It kept third-placed Atletico a point above Sevilla but also ensured Real Betis – in fifth – could no longer catch them.
The draw for Sevilla also means their rivals Betis cannot finish above them due to their superior head-to-head record and given they hold a three-point advantage over their neighbours going into the final day.
Juanmi’s double for Betis in a 2-0 win over Granada at least kept them in with a strong chance of claiming a Europa League berth.
Real Sociedad are their only challengers after they came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory at Villarreal with Alexander Isak and Martin Zubimendi on target in the second half to cancel out Francis Coquelin’s opener.
Second-placed Barcelona were held to a goalless draw away to Getafe, which secured safety for the hosts, while Cadiz picked up a precious point in their survival bid with a 1-1 draw at home to Real Madrid.
Mariano fired the visitors ahead after five minutes but Ruben Sobrino responded eight minutes before the break to leave a number of possible permutations at the bottom of the division.
The point could not prevent Cadiz dropping into the relegation zone after Abdon Prats grabbed a stoppage-time winner for Mallorca in a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Pathe Ciss had equalised for the away side after Vedat Muriqi’s early breakthrough before a scuffed finish by Prats at the back post produced wild celebrations.
Elsewhere, Levante moved off the bottom with a 3-1 triumph over fellow relegated side Deportivo Alaves and Elche lost 1-0 at Celta Vigo, while Athletic Bilbao got the better of Osasuna by a 2-0 score.
In the Netherlands, Manchester United-bound boss Erik Ten Hag signed off from life at Ajax with a 2-2 draw at Vitesse after Edson Alvarez struck three minutes from time to rescue a point for the Eredivisie champions.
