MILAN, May 16: AC Milan’s lengthy wait for the Italian league title will last another week at least.
Second-half goals from Rafael Leão and Theo Hernández saw Milan beat Atalanta 2-0 on Sunday and it now only needs one point from its final match to secure its first Serie A title since 2011.
The Rossoneri could even have clinched the title on Sunday but defending champion and fierce rival Inter Milan won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Cagliari to keep its fading title hopes alive.
Milan was two points ahead of Inter and has the better head-to-head record, which is the first tiebreaker in Serie A.
Milan upped the tempo in the second half and fans were on their feet nine minutes after the restart as they thought Hernández’s free kick had gone in but it landed on the outside of the side netting.
They only had to wait two minutes, however, before Leão used his pace to run onto a ball over the top from Junior Messias – who had only just come on – and drill it into the bottom left corner in the 56th.
And Milan all but sealed the match 15 minutes from time with a stunning goal from Hernández, who mazed his way from the edge of his area all the way into the opponents’ area before firing into the bottom right corner.
Not over yet
Two more goals from star striker Lautaro Martínez kept alive second-place Inter’s hopes of retaining the Italian league title.
Martínez’s goals came in the second half as Inter faced a stern test in Cagliari.
The Nerazzurri took the lead in the 25th when Matteo Darmian outleaped his marker for a looping header on a splendid cross from Ivan Perisic to the back post.
Martínez got his goal six minutes after the break as he sprung the offside trap to run onto a long ball and held off his defender before firing into the far bottom corner.
But Cagliari pulled one back three minutes later with a fierce effort from Charalampos Lykogiannis that took a slight deflection off Skriniar. However, Martínez sealed the result with his second of the match.
Emotional farewell
Lorenzo Insigne bid farewell to Napoli and netted a penalty in a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Genoa.
It was the final home game for Insigne, who is leaving Napoli at the end of the season after 15 years to join Toronto FC in Major League Soccer, and he gave an emotional speech to the fans before kickoff. (AP)
