Tonali’s late winner returns Milan to Serie A summit

AC Milan's Rafael Leao (right) kicks the ball ahead of Lazio's Manuel Lazzari during the Serie A soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Italy on Sunday. AP photo
AC Milan's Rafael Leao (right) kicks the ball ahead of Lazio's Manuel Lazzari during the Serie A soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Italy on Sunday. AP photo
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Agency :
AC Milan continued their chase for the Serie A title, registering a 2-1 comeback victory over Lazio on Sunday thanks to Sandro Tonali’s last-gasp winner.
The pressure was on Milan after city rivals Inter Milan beat Roma 3-1 on Saturday to temporarily top the standings.
The home side made a dream start after just four minutes as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic rolled across for Ciro Immobile from the right. The Italian international turned it in from close range, ending Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan’s run of consecutive clean sheets in Serie A.
The Rossoneri got back on level terms straight after the break when Rafael Leao burst down the left and pulled back for Olivier Giroud to slide in at the near post.
In a desperate bid for a victory, Milan threw on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ante Rebic late on, and it worked wonders in the closing stages when a poor clearance went up into the air, and Ibrahimovic resisted a challenge to nod for Tonali to slot in.
The win sees Milan moved back to the top with 74 points, two ahead of Inter Milan who have a game in hand. With four matches remaining, a 16-point advantage over fifth-placed Roma sees Milan secure a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Elsewhere, third-placed Napoli suffered a big blow to their title hopes, going 2-0 up but falling to pieces in a matter of seven minutes to suffer a 3-2 away defeat to Empoli.
Also on Sunday, Salernitana stunned Fiorentina 2-1, Genoa edged past Cagliari 1-0, and Bologna and Udinese shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

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