Milan head coach Stefano Pioli revealed he showed his players an interview with the late basketball great Kobe Bryant to try and inspire them to the Scudetto.
The Rossoneri went within one point of clinching the Serie A title with a 2-0 win over Atalanta at San Siro on Sunday thanks to second half goals from Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez.
Boasting a head-to-head advantage over Inter, the Rossoneri will be confirmed as champions if they avoid defeat when they travel to Sassuolo for their final Serie A match of the season next Sunday.
Inter kept their hopes of retaining their crown alive with a 3-1 victory at Cagliari and take on Sampdoria are home next weekend.
Pioli explained how he is trying to keep the players focused, including showing them words from NBA legend Bryant.
"It's been a year that the fans excite me with their affection," he told DAZN. "How am I living these weeks? In a normal way, because I see the right attitude and the attention you need. And I see my players focused and serene.
"I showed them the interview in which Kobe Bryant said that at 2-0 the work is not finished... and it must also apply to us. We remain focused and determined, there is still a week left. I've forbidden everyone to make plans for tonight."
Atalanta kept Milan honest in the contest, having nine shots in the second half as they tried to get back into it, but the leaders stood firm.
"I am very satisfied because we played against a strong team, conceding little," Pioli added. "We were able to find solutions and create spaces.
"My players were good at not losing lucidity and to always believe in them... How do we feel? The [recent 3-1] victory against Verona has given us even more confidence and awareness, every time we try to cover up our defects and enhance our qualities."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was an unused substitute despite the 40-year-old being out of contract at the end of the season, meaning this may have been his last chance to feature in front of the Milan fans, though he has not yet confirmed his intentions.
"I needed other players on the pitch," Pioli clarified. "Zlatan wanted to play but he understood."
A Lautaro Martinez brace ensured Inter will take the Serie A title race to the final day of the season as the Nerazzurri secured a tense 3-1 win over Cagliari.
Having seen leaders Milan beat Atalanta 2-0 earlier on Sunday, the Nerazzurri knew only a win in Sardinia would keep their hopes of a second consecutive title alive.
Martinez scored twice to add to Matteo Darmian's opener as Inter went about doing just that, although they had to work for the victory after Charalampos Lykogiannis halved the arrears in the second half.
Simone Inzaghi's men have it all to do on the final day, however, needing to beat Sampdoria and hope Milan lose at Sassuolo to be crowned champions.
Ivan Perisic forced Alessio Cragno into an early save with a fierce strike before Samir Handanovic got down to his right to stop Lykogiannis' goal-bound effort during a lively start.
Inter were denied a 10th-minute opener when Milan Skriniar was adjudged to have bundled home a right-wing free-kick with his arm, but the Nerazzurri hit the front after 25 minutes when Darmian headed Perisic's fine cross into the top-left corner.
Martinez twice went close to doubling Inter's lead at the end of an entertaining first half, striking the post with a sublime left-footed volley before drawing a close-range stop from Cragno.
The Argentine finally got his goal after 51 minutes, bringing down Nicolo Barella's long ball before firing home, only for Lykogiannis to halve the arrears two minutes later with a deflected long-range effort.
But Martinez was not done there, producing a brilliant lobbed finish from Roberto Gagliardini's pass to clinch his brace, putting Milan's celebrations on ice and deepening the hosts' relegation fears.
What does it mean? Inter take thrilling title race to the final day
Inzaghi's men ensured an absorbing Serie A title race will be decided on the final day of the season with their win, although they are relying on Sassuolo to complete a league double over Milan to give them a chance of glory.
Inter have now won seven of their last eight league games, losing the other, allowing them to keep pace with a Rossoneri side unbeaten in 15 Serie A matches (10 wins, five draws).
Outstanding Martinez passes 20-goal mark
Martinez's second-half brace proved decisive as the Argentina ace hit 21 league goals in what has been a superb individual campaign.
He is now just the sixth player in Inter's history to reach 20 goals in a Serie A season before turning 25, after Giuseppe Meazza, Sandro Mazzola, Antonio Angelillo, Ronaldo, and Mauro Icardi.
Cup hero contributes once more
Having scored an extra-time brace to fire Inter to a Coppa Italia final win over Juventus on Wednesday, Perisic was on top form again as the Nerazzurri kept their double hopes intact.
As well as scoring seven Serie A goals, the Croatian has registered seven league assists after teeing up Darmian's opener, with only Hakan Calhanoglu (11) and Barella (10) recording more for Inter this term.
Key Opta Facts:
- Inter have earned 39 Serie A points on the road this season, as many as in the previous term, which was their third-best performance in a single campaign (49 points in 2006-07 and 43 in 2019-20).
- Cagliari have ended a Serie A campaign with only three home wins for the second time in their history, after the 1999-2000 season.
- Martínez has scored the most goals in Serie A since the start of March (10).
What's next?
Inter host Sampdoria in their final game of the season next Sunday, requiring a win – and a Milan defeat at Sassuolo – to retain their title. Cagliari, meanwhile, need a win over relegated Venezia on the same day to have any chance of survival.
Andriy Lunin produced a string of fine saves as Real Madrid held on to a 1-1 draw at Cadiz, who dropped into the relegation zone as a result.
With Real Mallorca securing a dramatic win over Rayo Vallecano, only a victory at the Nuevo Mirandilla would have kept Cadiz out of the relegation zone, but Lunin – standing in for Thibaut Courtois – frustrated them.
Mariano Diaz's early Rodrygo-inspired opener was a sign of things to come in a thrilling first half, which ultimately ended level thanks to Ruben Sobrino's emphatic – and deserved – equaliser eight minutes before the interval.
Cadiz were comfortably the more threatening side in the second period but failed to capitalise on their chances, including a penalty that Lunin conceded and then saved.
Their future will be determined on the final day of the season.
Starting in place of Vinicius Junior for the champions, Rodrygo embarked on a mazy run that his compatriot would have been proud of before prodding the ball to Mariano for a fifth-minute tap-in.
That lead was almost wiped out soon after, but Nacho Fernandez got back to make a vital interception before Lucas Perez could pounce on Negredo's pass.
Lunin's fine save then denied Oussama Idrissi an equaliser, but the goalkeeper was helpless a few moments later as Sobrino smashed in off the crossbar from 16 yards following a weak Eder Militao clearance.
It remained a similarly open contest after the break and Cadiz wasted a glorious chance to take the lead, with Lunin saving Negredo's penalty after he had clumsily fouled the Madrid youth product.
Lunin acrobatically saved a goal-bound Negredo header soon after, with the Ukrainian's heroics enough to earn Madrid a point.
Luis Suarez bowed out with an ovation and a show of emotion as Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Sevilla in the striker's final home game for the club.
The 35-year-old Uruguay international will be released at the end of this campaign, it was confirmed on Sunday, with the man whose goals spurred last season's LaLiga title success on the move.
He could not produce any of the old magic this time, with Jose Gimenez scoring Atleti's goal, yet there was the warmest of receptions for Suarez from around the Wanda Metropolitano when he was substituted in the 64th minute. As he sat on the bench, he appeared close to tears.
Out-of-sorts Sevilla were in growing danger of sliding out of the top four next weekend, having for so long been the team that most closely tracked champions Real Madrid, but Youssef En-Nesyri headed an 85th-minute leveller. Now they, like Atletico, are assured of Champions League football next season.
Suarez lashed wide from an early half-chance after Atletico snatched possession on the edge of the Sevilla penalty area, and he and Antoine Griezmann both saw efforts blocked.
En-Nesyri got his finish all wrong at the other end after dashing in behind the Atletico defence, skewing well wide of Jan Oblak's goal.
The breakthrough came after 30 minutes when Gimenez stole into a yard of space at the near post and headed Yannick Carrasco's corner from the left across goal and beyond Yassine Bounou.
It was a first LaLiga goal of the season for Gimenez, and a team-high sixth assist for Carrasco.
A flying header from Suarez went a yard wide in the 53rd minute, before Sevilla's Alejandro Gomez saw a deflected strike from outside the penalty area well saved by Oblak.
Rodrigo de Paul had a 20-yard strike tipped over as Atletico sought a second to kill the game, but they were stung instead when En-Nesyri, having hit the crossbar moments earlier, nodded in from a fine cross by Oliver Torres.
Getafe and Barcelona played out an almost entirely uneventful 0-0 draw at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on the penultimate weekend of the LaLiga season.
A game with an enormous 'end of term' air about it never got going, though in reality that suited both teams.
The draw means that Barca have sealed second spot in LaLiga, while Getafe are now safe from relegation.
It represents an improvement on last season for the Catalan giants after they finished third behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
A very quiet first half unsurprisingly saw Barca dominate possession, but it was Getafe who created more chances and former Blaugrana player Carles Alena tested Marc-Andre ter Stegen from range, though the effort was easily dealt with by the German stopper.
Little of note happened early in the second half either, with Barca's first shot on target not arriving until the 48th minute as Ferran Torres tried to chip David Soria, but it was an easy save.
Memphis Depay was forced off with an injury, replaced by fellow Dutchman Luuk de Jong, who set up Alejandro Balde for a shot that flew over the bar following nice work from Ansu Fati down the left.
It was an otherwise quiet game, though, and the important thing for both was that they secured the point needed for a positive end to the campaign.
Rajasthan Royals moved up to second in the Indian Premier League and are on the brink of sealing a play-off place after a 24-run defeat of Lucknow Super Giants.
Lucknow knew a win at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday would secure a top-four finish with one game to spare, but they slipped below the Royals into third spot.
Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored with 41 in Rajasthan's total of 178-6 in Mumbai, with Ravi Bishnoi taking 2-31.
Deepak Hooda's 59 was in vain as Lucknow could only make 154-8 in reply, Trent Boult the pick of the bowlers with 2-18 as the Royals took a big stride towards the play-offs.
Avesh Khan struck a big early blow when he bowled Rajasthan's Jos Buttler in the third over, but Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (32) put on 64 for the second wicket before the captain fell to Jason Holder.
Jaiswal was caught and bowled in Ayush Badoni's only over, but Devdut Padikkal kept Rajasthan ticking with a couple of sixes and five fours.
Bishnoi (2-31) denied Padikkal the chance of a half-century, dismissing him for 39, and also removed Riyan Parag, but Boult added a quickfire unbeaten 17 after Jimmy Neesham was run out.
Neesham, playing his second match of the tournament, took a catch for his New Zealand team-mate Boult to claim the scalp of Quinton de Kock in the third over of the run chase and the left-arm seamer also trapped Badoni leg before first ball.
Lucknow were 29-3 when Prasidh Krishna (2-32) sent KL Rahul packing, but a stand of 65 between Hooda and Krunal Pandya kept them in the game.
Ravichandran Ashwin ended the partnership by sending Pandya on his way for 25, and Hooda was stumped off the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal, while Obed McCoy claimed 2-35 in a big win for the Royals.
Brilliant Boult strikes twice
Boult made it advantage the Royals when he took two early wickets in as many balls, preventing De Kock from doing damage and snaring Badoni for a golden duck.
He bowled 14 dot balls in his four overs and conceded only two boundaries, leaving the Super Giants up against it.
Three play-off spots still up for grabs
Gujarat Titans are the only side guaranteed a play-off place as the battle for top-four finishes goes to the wire.
The Royals do battle with Chennai Super Kings in their last game of the league season, while Lucknow must regroup before facing Kolkata Knight Riders.
Werder Bremen are back in the top flight after securing promotion from 2. Bundesliga on the final day of the season.
Bremen started the day three points ahead of rivals Hamburg and Darmstadt, and only needing to avoid defeat to clinch second place.
They ultimately enjoyed a relatively simple 2-0 win over Jahn Regensburg 2-0 at Weserstadion to spark joyous scenes.
A first-half opener from Niclas Fullkrug was followed early in the second period by a goal courtesy of Marvin Ducksch, who had set up their first.
It means Bremen have returned to the top flight after just one season out of the Bundesliga, from where they were relegated last season for only the second time in their history.
The last time they went down, they also bounced back at the first time of asking (1980-81).
The four-time Bundesliga champions follow Schalke back to the top division after the latter confirmed promotion with a 3-2 win over St. Pauli last week.
Die Knappen then sealed the title on Sunday with a 2-1 win at Nuremberg. A terrific Rodrigo Zalazar strike from inside his own half gave them the lead, before the league's top scorer Simon Terodde netted his 30th goal from as many games shortly after Lukas Schleimer's equaliser for the hosts.
This is the fourth time Terodde has won the top scorer award in the German second tier, and he becomes the first player since Sven Demandt for Fortuna Dusseldorf (35 goals) 33 years go to score 30 in a campaign.
Goals from Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez put Milan on the brink of their first Serie A title in 11 years as Stefano Pioli's men claimed a 2-0 win over Atalanta.
After both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances in a nervy first-half, Leao broke clear to open the scoring, and Hernandez capped an incredible run with a fine left-footed finish to provoke jubilant scenes at San Siro.
Boasting a head-to-head advantage over Inter, the Rossoneri will be confirmed as champions if the second-placed Nerazzurri fail to beat Cagliari later on Sunday.
If Inter do pick up maximum points, Milan will only need to avoid defeat at Sassuolo on the final day of the season to clinch their 19th Scudetto after winning their fifth consecutive Serie A contest.
Sandro Tonali dragged a long-range effort wide as both sides made a tentative start to the game, before in-form forward Leao clipped a tame effort into Juan Musso's arms.
Luis Muriel drew a smart save from Mike Maignan from distance after half an hour, before Leao sent a wild effort high and wide as Milan struggled to create first-half opportunities.
Atalanta went close when Davide Zappacosta's effort deflected over within three minutes of the restart, before Hernandez came within inches of breaking the deadlock when he hit a 30-yard free-kick into the side-netting.
But Milan made the all-important breakthrough after 56 minutes, Leao racing onto Junior Messias' pass to finish neatly through the legs of Musso, with the furious visitors believing Matteo Pessina was fouled in the build-up.
Hernandez then sealed the victory with a goal worthy of deciding any title race, picking the ball up near his own box and driving towards the Atalanta area before finishing into the bottom-right corner, leaving Milan within touching distance of glory.
Sam Horsfield scooped the third title of his DP World Tour career as the Englishman triumphed at the Soudal Open in Belgium.
The 25-year-old won two tournaments in three weeks in August 2020, and a closing three-under-par 68 at Antwerp's Rinkven International course gave him a two-shot triumph on Sunday.
Horsfield, who has spent much of his life living in the United States, has only recently returned to action after a three-month injury lay-off and this was just his second event on tour since January.
He looked sharp regardless of that long spell of inactivity, and it was a thrill to get over the line and clinch another trophy.
Horsfield battled playing partner Ryan Fox of New Zealand over the closing 18 holes, with Fox's challenge falling away as he made three bogeys in the closing six holes to finish with a 71.
At 13 under par for the week, Horsfield finished two shots clear of Fox and Germany's Yannik Paul, who shared second place. Paul finished with a round of 69, made up of two birdies and 16 pars.
Horsfield said of the victory moment: "I was trying not to cry while I was over that little tap-in."
His girlfriend, Issi Bryon, has taken on bag duties in the absence of Horsfield's regular caddie, Mick Seaborn, this week. Horsfield on Saturday said his caddie had been "going through a tough time".
"Having Issi on the bag, it's been an amazing week," Horsfield said. "Mick's not here but I wish he was. I was able to do it for him and I'm so, so happy."
Jai Hindley held off strong competition from Romain Bardet and Richard Carapaz to claim victory on stage nine of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday.
The Australian secured victory on Blockhaus despite being pushed hard by Bardet and Carapaz, with a very tight sprint ending at the top of the second summit.
Mikel Landa and Joao Almeida were not far behind, while Juan Pedro Lopez was able to recover from coming off his bike to retain the maglia rosa heading into Monday's rest day.
"It's pretty incredible," Hindley said after the race. "It wasn't the easiest year I had last year. I worked [hard] to get back to the level to compete at the Giro and I'm at a loss for words. It's pretty amazing.
"I was just trying to survive as best I could, actually. I knew it was flattening out in the last k's and there was a right-hander before the finish with around 200m to go. I wanted to take the corner first and gave it everything to the line."
It was a day to forget for Simon Yates, though, who finished the stage over 11 minutes down on Hindley, and is likely now out of contention for the maglia rosa.
Lopez fought hard to recover after being forced off his bike following a collision with Sam Oomen, though the Spaniard offered an apology to the Jumbo-Visma rider afterwards.
"I want to say sorry to Sam Oomen because after we touched each other and I had to put one foot on the ground, I threw my bottle," Lopez said.
"When I came to my first Giro I didn't expect to have the maglia rosa so it was hard to believe that I still have it. I'm very tired but luckily I have a rest day tomorrow."
NO BREAKS IN THE HAND IS WORTH ONE IN THE BUSH
It must have been a scary moment for Natnael Tesfatsion as he went too fast into a left turn, veered off the road and flew over his handlebars headfirst into a bush.
He got back to his feet and carried on, but it was a particular blow after he had been leading the breakaway.
Tesfatsion was seen by a doctor and the official Giro race feed thankfully confirmed he had safely resumed the race, with seemingly more ego bruised than body.
STAGE RESULT
1. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) 5:34:44
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) same time
3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) same time
4. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) same time
5. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) same time
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 37:52:01
2. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0:12
3. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) +0:14
Points Classification
1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 147
2. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 120
3. Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) 78
King of the Mountains
1. Diego Rosa (Eolo-Kometa) 83
2. Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma) 69
3. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 43
Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City fans to "go to the streets" ahead of the Premier League leaders' final game of the season against Aston Villa.
City found themselves 2-0 down to West Ham at half-time on Sunday but fought back to draw 2-2.
However, City missed a chance to win it late on when Riyad Mahrez saw a penalty saved by Lukasz Fabianski. It is only the second penalty the Algeria international has missed during his time with the club, having also squandered an opportunity from 12 yards against Liverpool in October 2018.
Fabianski, meanwhile, has saved 10 Premier League penalties, with only David James (13) and Thomas Sorensen (12) stopping more spot-kicks in the competition.
That draw lifts City four points above Liverpool, who won the FA Cup on Saturday by beating Chelsea on penalties, with one match left to play.
It comes next Sunday, against a Liverpool great, as Steven Gerrard takes his Aston Villa team to the Etihad Stadium. The Reds, meanwhile, face Southampton on Tuesday and then host Wolves in their final game.
Should Southampton claim an unlikely win, the title will be City's, but any other result means it is heading to the last day - something that Guardiola is relishing.
"Next week our stadium will be sold out, will give them our lives and they will give theirs, all together," he told a news conference.
"To do it is an incredible privilege, after many years, incredible. To have our chance with our people, to win one game to be champions. I'm looking forward to it.
"If they lose or win it depends on us, do the most perfect game we possibly can do, all the people, all blue people in Manchester, go to the streets and go to the stadium because they know we're going to give everything to win that game and they will be so proud."
City trailed by two or more goals at half-time for the 53rd time in the Premier League, with this only the second time they have avoided defeat from such a position (D2 L51), while they remain unbeaten away from home in the top flight since losing their opening match away to Tottenham.
La Rochelle will face Leinster in the European Champions Cup final after beating Racing 92 20-13 in an almighty battle at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
A year after losing to Toulouse in the final, La Rochelle will have another chance to be crowned European champions for the first time at Stade Velodrome on May 28 after fighting back to defeat their Top 14 rivals on a hot Sunday in Lens.
A second-half penalty try, which resulted in Racing being reduced to 13 men for around eight minutes, was a key moment in the semi-final as it put La Rochelle in front for the first time.
Ronan O'Gara's side edged out the Ireland legend's former employers to set up a repeat of last year's semi-final in Marseille, Ihaia West making amends for an off day with the boot by sealing it with a try right at the end.
Nolann Le Garrec put Racing in front with an early penalty and West failed to make it 3-3 when he missed a straightforward chance from the tee.
Virimi Vakatawa extended the Paris club's lead with a sharp sidestep to squeeze beyond two defenders and dot down for an opening try, which Le Garrec converted after 25 minutes.
La Rochelle applied sustain pressure and although Raymond Rhule had a try ruled out as the ball was not clearly out of a ruck when he scooped it up, West's penalty got them on the board and Gregory Alldritt powered his way over on the stroke of half-time.
West was unable to add the extras and the La Rochelle fly-half was off target with another penalty early in the second half before the ice cool Le Garrec booted Racing into a 13-8 lead.
Ill-disciplined Racing were rocked when Camille Chat and Cedate Gomes Sa were sent to the sin bin in quick succession, the second offence resulting in a penalty try that put last year's runners-up 15-13 up with just under half an hour go.
A disjointed and sloppy La Rochelle side failed to increase their advantage while Racing were two men down, during which time Le Garrec missed from the tee twice.
Pierre Popelin stepped up to miss a penalty at the other end, but O'Gara's men ended Racing's hopes of winning the Champions Cup for the first time, with West diving over to seal it.
Novak Djokovic became the oldest winner of the Internazionali d'Italia men's singles title in the Open Era as he fended off Stefanos Tsitsipas on the clay in Rome.
The world number one said he played a "perfect set" to race through the opener, before coming from a break down in the second to earn a 6-0 7-6 (7-5) victory in Sunday's final.
Djokovic made it a record-extending 38th Masters 1000 title in what was his 55th final at this level, and it was his sixth triumph at this event in the Italian capital.
At 34 years, 11 months and 23 days old, Djokovic is 10 days older than the previous oldest Rome champion, Rafael Nadal, who took the title last year.
He boosted his head-to-head record to 7-2 against Greek star Tsitsipas, winning their last six matches and all five they have contested on clay, including last year's French Open final where Djokovic came from two sets behind to scoop the grand slam. This victory clearly augurs well for Djokovic's upcoming title defence in Paris.
Djokovic broke serve to love in the opening game, Tsitsipas swatting a volley into the net to hand over the early advantage and set the tone for a wildly one-sided set.
Tsitsipas broke to lead 3-1 in the second set and he served for it at 5-3 but was broken to 15, sending a forehand wide on game point. The tie-break that soon followed was hard fought, with Tsitsipas looping a backhand long on match point as Serbian Djokovic earned the trophy once again.
Reflecting on his fast start, and his first title of 2022, Djokovic said on Amazon Prime: "I pleasantly surprised myself, I can say, even though I had a clear game plan and strategy coming into the match. I knew what to expect from the other side so I knew what I had to do, but I did play a perfect set, no doubt about it.
"After that it was a little bit tight, the beginning of the second for me. He used it, and at this level one or two points can turn a match around and he was back in the game. At 4-1 up for him and 30-40, the match could have easily gone into a third set, but I somehow managed to find the right shots at the right time to come back in the game, and the tie-breaker, I guess I was just an inch better, maybe calmer, and it was a tight tie-break for both of us."
Ahead of the French Open, which gets under way next Sunday, Djokovic is feeling in great shape for his title defence. Having missed the Australian Open in January in a deportation drama, Djokovic will head to Paris as a major rival to teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz.
Should Djokovic triumph at Roland Garros, he would match Nadal's men's record of 21 grand slams.
"I've been building my form in the last couple of weeks and like the previous years I knew that my best shape on clay was usually coming around Rome time," Djokovic said.
"So it couldn't be a better time, coming into Roland Garros with a title at this wonderful tournament. I'm going to Paris with a lot of confidence."
Enea Bastianini said he tried to make Francesco Bagnaia "nervous" by overtaking him, a tactic that worked as he secured the win at the French Grand Prix on Sunday in MotoGP.
To make Bagnaia's afternoon even worse, the Ducati rider crashed out just a few turns later.
After working his way up from fifth on the grid, Bastianini made his way up to Bagnaia at the front before putting pressure on his fellow Italian.
The drama arrived on lap 21 as Bastianini overtook Bagnaia before the latter immediately took his position back, only to hit the kicker and run wide.
That allowed Bastianini to ease back into the lead, with Bagnaia's race ending after going into the gravel shortly after.
"I'm really happy about this race. The weekend has been really complicated for me with some crashes," Bastianini said after his win.
"In the race I see that my pace was really nice, and at the end when I see Pecco [Bagnaia] very close I understand 'okay now you have to stay behind', and I tried overtaking him in the second corner to make him a little bit nervous, and at the end he goes long and I win this race.
"It's all for my team because they work a lot at this Grand Prix to give me the best bike, and it's incredible this job."
Bagnaia started on pole alongside fellow Ducati rider Jack Miller, who did at least finish second, and the Australian explained why he had allowed Bagnaia to get back ahead of him early in the race.
"The boys rode a strong race at the front there. Pecco wanted to pass me early on, it seemed like he had a bit better speed," Miller said. "I had good grip, I just wasn’t able to push off on that right-hand side.
"Pecco wanted to pull away so I was like 'alright, go for it', but as soon as he got in the front he sort of started having moment after moment.
"Then I saw Bastianini coming and coming. He put the move on me and to be honest I had nothing back for him until he and Pecco got into a bit of a battle, my lap times started coming down again there towards the end and I was actually able to come a bit closer to him, but yeah he was riding really well today."
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