Juventus' dominance challenged by resurgence of Milan clubs
Football | December 26, 2020 5:33 ISTFor the first time since 2009, both Milan clubs are at the top of the Italian league standings heading into the winter break.
For the first time since 2009, both Milan clubs are at the top of the Italian league standings heading into the winter break.
The relegation-threatened Fiorentina defeated Juventus 3-0, as the Bianconeri fall seven points off the top of the table.
Alexis Saelemaekers scored Milan’s other goal as the Rossoneri remained a point clear of second-place Inter Milan, which beat promoted Spezia 2-1.
Statistics supplier Opta said the Portuguese youngster’s goal beat the previous record of eight seconds set by Piacenza’s Paolo Poggi against Fiorentina in 2001.
Juventus temporarily cut its gap with leader AC Milan to one point in the ongoing Serie A as it enjoyed a 4-0 away victory to Parma.
Nicolò Barella, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Romelu Lukaku scored in the final 15 minutes after Riccardo Sottil had given Cagliari the lead shortly before halftime.
Substitute Samuel Castillejo doubled Milan’s lead late on, with his first touch, after Franck Kessié’s first-half penalty. Albin Ekdal pulled one back for Sampdoria but Milan held on to consolidate its advantage at the top of the table.
Both teams had a goal ruled out after Roma forward Pedro was sent off four minutes before halftime following a second yellow card.
Juventus appeared to be heading for a win and into second spot after Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-half goal but substitute Felipe Caicedo pounced deep in stoppage time.
Roma defender Marash Kumbulla equalized six minutes from time following an unintended assist from Zlatan Ibrahimović, who was trying to clear a corner and instead redirected the ball toward the far post where Kumbulla rushed forward to pound it in.
A strange atmosphere at San Siro awaits on Saturday when Inter Milan hosts city rival AC Milan with only 1,000 fans allowed in the 80,000-seat stadium because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Inter Milan settle for a point against 10-man Lazio, after a second-half goal by Sergej Milinković-Savić cancelled the first-half opener by Lautaro Martínez in Milan.
He set up Inter’s equaliser in its 4-3 win over Fiorentina shortly after coming off the bench and did even better on his full debut on Wednesday, a 5-2 victory at Benevento.
During the transfer window, Inter Milan were among the most active by bringing in midfielder Arturo Vidal and defenders Achraf Hakimi and Aleksandar Kolarov among others.
Ibrahimović broke the deadlock 10 minutes from halftime with a powerful header on a Theo Hernández cross.
The Bianconeri are bidding for a record-extending 10th straight Serie A title, and will be beginning the season with a different coach for the third straight year.
The FIFA president meets Italian Premier on the day to discuss the possibility of bringing back fans to stadiums as Serie A 2020-21 season begins in 10 days
The 31-year-old Croatian forward scored eight goals and assisted 10 more in 35 games for Bayern Munich during the season-long loan spell.
According to the Serie A side, the 38-year-old has re-joined his teammates and coach Stefano Pioli at Milanello Sports Center, where he took part in his first training session of the season.
In the Serie A season that ended early August, Immobile scored 36 goals to match Gonzalo Higuain’s Italian league record.
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