AC Milan continued their quest for Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Sunday by beating Napoli 1-0 and dealing a heavy blow to the champions.
Theo Hernandez scored the goal in a gripping match in the 25th minute at San Siro, scoring the winning goal after receiving a brilliant pass from Rafael Leao.
Milan remain third, 8 adrift of local rivals Inter, and have extended their league unbeaten run to nine games, winning seven.
While Inter may prove too difficult to catch, Milan’s recent clever form has cemented their position in the division’s Champions League standings.
Stefano Pioli’s side are thirteen adrift of fifth-placed Bologna, who beat Lecce 4-0 to clinch fifth place in Rome, and are almost certain to secure a place in European club competitions.
The same can be said for Napoli, as Walter Mazzarri’s side languish in ninth position after their eighth defeat in a dismal defence of the name.
Napoli are 25 points behind Inter, both have played 23 games and, more importantly, are in serious danger of missing out on the Champions League.
The southern Italian club, which clinched the Scudetto last season, has lost more league games than it has won since Mazzarri took over following the sacking of Rudi Garcia in November.
Napoli took the lead on Sunday and came close to taking the lead early on when Giovanni Simeone fired a great chance wide.
And Milan substitute Jan-Carlo Simic came close to giving Napoli a point in the final minute when he deflected Jesper Lindstrom’s cross onto the post.
But Napoli have created little with most owners and rank with their upcoming Champions League match against Barcelona as an unlikely source of imaginable glory in an otherwise disastrous season.
ATALANTA IS FOURTH
Earlier, Atalanta had established themselves in the Champions League with a hard-fought 4-1 win in Genoa.
Charles De Ketelaere and Teun Koopmeiners gave Atalanta the lead in the 54th minute of an entertaining encounter before two stoppage-time goals from Davide Zappacosta and El Bilal Toure guaranteed Atalanta to end the weekend in fourth place.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, who lead Bologna by 3 points, have won their last 4 Serie A games and are unbeaten in league and cup in 2024.
Gasperini will be encouraged by substitute Toure, who will score on his Atalanta debut after spending the entire season sidelined with a serious knee injury.
Malian striker Toure became Atalanta’s record signing at the end of July when they bought him for an announced payment of €30 million plus signings from Almeria.
Promoted Genoa, who equalised through former Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi shortly before Koopmeiners’ free-kick, are in 12th place after their ninth defeat of the season.
However, Alberto Gilardino’s side are 10 points clear of the relegation zone and, after Sunday’s performance, the former Italy striker is not worried about his team confirming their status in Serie A.
Five adrift of seventh-placed Atalanta is Fiorentina, who picked up their first league win of 2024 by beating desolate Frosinone 5-1 in Florence.
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