Franck Kessie's penalties gave Milan a 2-0 victory that secured their return to the Champions League after a seven-season absence as Atalanta finished with 10 men.
Milan led the way in the Scudetto race until February but fell off the pace and went into the final weekend knowing that defeat could see them slip to fifth and miss out on a place in Europe's premier club competition.
They showed little desire to attack Atalanta, who were already guaranteed to finish in the top four, but moved ahead two minutes before half-time thanks to Kessie's first spot-kick.
Marten de Roon was shown a red card – a little shove on the referee in response could land him in further bother – following the awarding of a second penalty in second-half stoppage time that Kessie slotted home to spark jubilation in the Milan camp.
Milan spent much of the first half successfully absorbing Atalanta pressure but they were awarded a chance to go ahead when Joakim Maehle felled Theo Hernandez in the box.
Former Atalanta midfielder Kessie confident stepped up and drilled the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner in a massive moment for Milan.
Gian Piero Gasperini sent on Luis Muriel for the second half but the hosts struggled to test Gianluigi Donnarumma.
They nearly fell two behind in the 69th minute when Kessie surged forward and fed Rafael Leao, who saw his dink over Pierluigi Gollini hit the upright.
Milan continued to defend well as Atalanta looked for an equaliser that would have secured an unprecedented second-place finish for the club.
However, referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot when Hakan Calhanoglu's mishit deflected off Jose Luis Palomino and struck Robin Gosens on the arm.
De Roon was dismissed for violent conduct in an ensuing melee and he responded by pushing the referee.
Kessie was eventually able to take his penalty and he converted again to ensure it was Napoli who missed out on Champions League qualification.
What does it mean? Milan save some face
The Rossoneri were in danger of becoming only the second team to finish outside the top three in Serie A after leading at the halfway stage – Juventus being the other side when they slipped from first to fifth in 1935-36.
However, Kessie's penalties clinched a valuable victory that secured their best league finish since 2011-12, lightening the blow of seeing arch-rivals Inter lift the trophy earlier on Sunday.
The Rossoneri also made history by becoming the first team to win 16 Serie A away games in a single season, breaking a record that was set by Inter in 2006-07.
Franck deserves a Kessie
With a pair of penalties, Kessie became the first Milan player to score 11 spot-kicks in a single Serie A campaign in history. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (12) and Ciro Immobile (14) have registered more across one season.
Maehle has a mare
The way Atalanta were playing it seemed like it would only be a matter of time until they got the opening goal, but Maehle's reckless challenge on Kessie changed the game. He gave away possession 12 times and failed to win any of his eight duels.
Key Opta Facts
- Milan will return to play in the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14 (when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Atletico Madrid).
- The Rossoneri have set a new all-time record for away wins in a Serie A season: 16. No side has ever done better in the top-five European leagues in a single campaign (16 also for Real Madrid in 2011-12 and Manchester City in 2017-18).
- Franck Kessie is the first Milan player to score two penalties in a single Serie A match since Kaka in April 2009 against Palermo.
- Atalanta have failed to score in only two of their past 21 Serie A matches: both against Milanese sides (the previous against Inter last March).
- Milan have kept a clean sheet in five consecutive Serie A games for the first time since March 2006.
- Stefano Pioli's side have taken the most penalties (20) in a single Serie A season since 2004-05 (when Opta started to collect this data).
What's next?
Milan will hope Champions League qualification enables them to tie Gianluigi Donnarumma and Calhanoglu down to new contracts, with Atalanta also able to look forward to another season in Europe's premier club competition.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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