MILAN, Feb 13: AC Milan surged to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday.
After beating its city rival 2-1 in the previous round of games last weekend, Milan was third in the table, trailing by two points leader Inter Milan, which was held to a 1-1 draw at second-place Napoli on Saturday.
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan set up the winning goal for Rafael Leão in the eighth minute. The France international sent a long kick from outside his penalty area to feed Leão who controlled the ball on the left flank before moving past defender Bartosz Bereszyński to beat Sampdoria goalkeeper Wladimiro Facone.
It was the 10th goal of the season for the Portugal forward.
Striker Olivier Giroud, who scored both goals in the game against Inter, had his second-half header from close range fingertipped over by Facone.
AC Milan tops the table with 55 points, one clear of Inter in second with Napoli another point back.
Among the remaining five games on Sunday, fifth-place Atalanta hosts fourth-place Juventus while Roma in seventh needs points from its game against Sassuolo to be in contention for a European spot.
Also, Empoli meets Cagliari and Verona plays Udinese.
In a match between the two bottom clubs, Genoa hosts Salernitana. (AP)
