ROME, April 25 (BUS): If Milan win their first Serie A title in 11 years this season – and this looks more and more like an obvious possibility – their latest win at Lazio on Sunday could be one win. One of the keys to success.
Sandro Tonali scored in stoppage time as Milan came back from a goal down to win 2-1, bringing the Rossoneri site back to the top of the Serie A table.
“This was another important step forward,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said.
With four games remaining, Milan are two points ahead of rival Inter Milan, who have a game in hand over their rival.
Milan put pressure on them with a 3-1 win over Roma on Saturday, and could reclaim the top spot if they beat Bologna on Wednesday in a rescheduled match, the Associated Press reported.
After a failed attempt by Francesco Acerbi, Tonali used his thigh to control a header pass from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, then put the ball inside – leading to raucous celebrations amid a large crowd of visiting fans at Stadio Olimpico. In a show of determination, the play began when Ante Rebic stripped Lazio of possession of the ball.
“It is right that you are happy and satisfied with this match and with our fans, who have once again proven themselves admirably,” said Pioli.
The victory extended Milan’s unbeaten streak to 12 games, and this was the Rossoneri’s third win over Lazio this season, including the Italian Cup.
Lazio took an early lead when Ciro Immobile ran between two defenders and used one touch to redirect Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s cross into the far corner.
The result made Immobile the fourth player in Europe’s top five leagues to score 25 or more goals in a season at least three times since 2016-2017 – Immobile’s first season in Lazio – after Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
Olivier Giroud’s goal after the break was similar to that of Immobile. France World Cup winner slipped to redirect a pass from Raphael Liao – one touch too.
The loss damaged Lazio’s chances of securing qualification for the European League, leaving the Romanian club two points behind rivals Roma, which is in fifth place.
Napoli’s mistakes
Napoli’s hopes of winning their first Serie A title in more than three decades were dashed over eight minutes late in the second half in Empoli on Sunday.
Napoli conceded three consecutive goals – including one that came as a result of a fatal mistake by goalkeeper Alex Merritt – and squandered their two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss, which continued their unbeaten streak to three games.
Third-placed Napoli left seven points behind AC Milan. Fourth-placed Juventus could move one point off Napoli by beating Sassuolo on Monday.
Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne took a 2-0 lead from Napoli just before the hour mark and Partenube seemed confident of entering the final 10 minutes.
That’s when the match turned.
Liam Henderson scored Empoli’s first goal in the 80’s after Kevin Malcuit lost the ball in midfield.
Merritt took a long time to clear the ball, and when he finally tried to shoot the ball away from his goal, Andrea Pinamonti was just above him and the ball bounced off the Empoli striker into Merit’s net.
Finally, in the 88th minute, Pinamonti finished off a fast counter-attack as 14th-placed Empoli took their first win since December.
This is only the third time in Serie A history that a team has won after trailing two goals after 79 minutes.
“Obviously it was difficult to imagine the end of the game like this,” Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said. “We made a lot of mistakes and lost the ball easily.”
Diego Maradona led Napoli to its only Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.
Salernitana Street
Having spent most of the season in last place, Salernitana abruptly entered a three-game winning streak – the first of its kind in Serie A history – and battled to avoid relegation.
The southern club beat visiting Fiorentina 2-1 to move three points clear of 17th-placed Cagliari, who lost 1-0 to Genoa, another club in the relegation zone.
Substitute Federico Bonazoli scored the winning goal in the 79th minute after Milan Đurić gave an early advantage to Salernitana. Ricardo Sabonara equalized for Fiorentina.
Twelfth-placed Udinese and thirteenth-placed Bologna also tied 2-2.