AC Milan secured top spot with a 1-0 win against Empoli (13th) despite pressure from Juventus (4th) who remain on the lookout for the top three following their 3-1 win in Genoa against Sampdoria (16th) on Saturday during matchday 29 of Serie A.
Source: AFP
Inter Milan, current champion and still favorite, will have to suffer to keep their ‘scudetto’, against a Milan that does not want to let go of the provisional leadership, Napoli and now also Juventus, who with a streak of fifteen games without knowing defeat he is already just two points behind the Nerazzurri.
– Milan, thanks to Kalulu –
AC Milan ensured to finish the weekend in the lead thanks to a valuable goal from Pierre Kalulu. After a direct free kick from Frenchman Oliver Giroud, cleared by the wall, the young French central defender took advantage of the rebound to shoot from outside the area and score the winning goal (min. 19).
The Rossoneri created danger through Alesandro Florenzi and Oliver Giroud, controlling the first half against an inoffensive Empoli.
After the break, Milan lost control and among the doubts came a double chance from Empoli (minutes 49 and 50) saved by goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who prevented the visitors from drawing.
“We have fought for this victory as great teams do”, celebrated coach Stefano Pioli, without risking it: “We are happy with our moment but the classification is still virtual, let’s see match by match”.
Despite not having controlled the match, Milan managed to maintain the lead until the final whistle and scored three important points in the fight for the ‘scudetto’
AC Milan, with this victory, has already accumulated seven games undefeated in the championship.
– Juve continues to rise –
For its part, Juventus also suffered more than necessary and can thank their goalkeeper, the Polish Wojciech Szczesny, for saving a penalty in the second half. Despite this, Massimiliano Allegri’s team did not let the victory slip away and puts pressure on the top three.
Without the Serbian Dusan Vlahovic, who was rested ahead of the match against Villarreal in the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday (1-1 in the first leg in Spain), it was the Spanish Álvaro Morata who shone with a brace (min. 34 penalty and min 88 with his head). Morata was also the involuntary protagonist of the deflection of a direct free kick that allowed Sampdoria to reduce the distance to 2-1, the work of Moroccan German Abdelhamid Sabiri (min. 84).
“We have returned to being compact and we have regained the desire to fight and sacrifice ourselves, in training there is a better atmosphere than at the beginning of the season,” the Spaniard highlighted to the DAZN network after his double.
Juventus had scored their first goal with an own goal from the Japanese Maya Yoshida (23).
Even without veterans Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, and without the creativity of Paulo Dybala, who were injured, Juventus have recovered their defensive strength and punch up front.
Despite their manager Massimiliano Allegri denying it, Juventus are once again a threat in the title race, although they seemed totally out of contention for the ‘scudetto’ in December.
At the beginning of April, they will face Inter, a great opportunity to climb beyond fourth position, the club’s official goal.
