AC Milan closed to within five points of Serie A leaders Napoli with Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Salernitana, as Lazio fell to a 2-1 loss at promoted Lecce. First-half strikes from Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali in Salerno lifted champions Milan to 36 points, closing the gap on Napoli, who take on Inter Milan at the San Siro in the big game of the day, as the top flight of Italy starts again. Milan remain second regardless of results elsewhere and will be hoping for a misstep from Napoli ahead of next weekend, which will see them host sixth-placed Roma, 1-0 winners of Bologna on their return to action.
Stefano Pioli’s side are also five points ahead of third-placed Juventus ahead of their game against struggling Cremonese.
Milan should have had bigger winners at the Stadio Arechi, but a combination of profligate finishing and a fantastic performance from Salernitana’s new goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa denied Milan the goals they deserved. “We were almost perfect because we could have scored one or two more goals to win more comfortably,” Tonali told Sky.
“We are aware of the importance of what we did last season, we will defend the title to the last drop of sweat we leave on the pitch.”
Veteran Mexico international Ochoa moved to Salernitana, 14th with 17 points, after the World Cup and made his presence felt in the absence of the injured Luigi Sepe. The 37-year-old made an excellent double save from Olivier Giroud and Charles De Ketelaere with eight minutes remaining, allowing Federico Bonazzoli to reel in a deep cross from Lassana Coulibaly and give the home side some hope in the dying minutes.
Lecce stuns Lazio
Six points adrift of Milan are Lazio, whose defeat at Lecce came after Ciro Immobile gave them a half-time lead with his 189th Serie A goal, surpassing Alessandro De Piero and Beppe Signori in the all-time scoring charts.
However, they came loose after half-time at the Stadio Via del Mare in Italy’s deep south, missing the chance to finish third over Juve and being caught on 30 points by local rivals Roma.
Gabriel Strefezza equalized for Lecce just before the hour mark after Federico Di Francesco’s shot was saved by Ivan Provedel.
And Di Francesco was again key as the hosts took the lead, his brilliant volleyed cross finding Lorenzo Colombo for a tap, sending his team up to 12th, nine points clear of the relegation zone. Mario Pasalic grabbed a last gasp 2-2 draw for Atalanta in Spezia with an injury time leveler to complete a two-goal comeback.
Spezia were in the lead with 13 minutes remaining thanks to Emmanuel Gyasi and M’Bala Nzola’s first half finish, but young striker Rasmus Hojlund pulled one back and Pasalic grabbed the equalizer with seconds left. The team of Gian Piero Gasperini, who lost striker Duvan Zapata through injury, is seventh with 28 points, while Spezia remains one place above the relegation zone.
Spezia are five points ahead of Sampdoria, who took their second win of the season, 2-1, in Sassuolo, thanks to Manolo Gabbiadini’s spectacular bicycle kick in the 25th minute and Tommaso Augello’s goal soon after. Verona remain bottom of the division with six points despite a 10-game losing streak with their 1-1 draw at Torino.
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