Rafael Leao's early strike helped AC Milan to take all three points and leapfrog Inter Milan and Napoli to the summit.
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AC Milan defeated Sampdoria 1-0 at San Siro on Sunday to move to the top of the Serie A standings. Rafael Leao’s early goal secured all three points for Stefano Pioli’s side and helped them to leapfrog Inter Milan and Napoli, who played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday, to the summit. Meanwhile Milan are just one point above Inter, who have a game in hand. The race for Scudetto is becoming tighter with the top three teams separated by just two points. Milan came into the match without the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer, while star full-back Theo Hernandez was out with suspension.
Happy Sunday, Rossoneri! ??⚫#MilanSampdoria #SempreMilan @Acqua_Lete pic.twitter.com/116EAT2m3U
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 13, 2022
Goalkeeper Maignan provided the assist for Leao’s goal. The Frenchman’s long clearance found Leao on the left flank. The Portuguese forward cut inside Bartosz Bereszynski and placed a right-foot shot past Sampdoria goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone into the far bottom corner. It was a fine way to mark his 100th appearance for the Rossoneri.
Falcone made a brilliant one-handed save to deny Messias from the edge of the box. Few minutes later Messias again got a chance as Sandro Tonali’s pass found the Brazilian inside the box. But the 30-year-old’s attempted low curler went wide.
At the other end, Antonio Candreva tested Maignan from outside the box. Milan were clearly the dominant side and they pushed forward for the second. Olivier Giroud’s acrobatic effort from Ante Rebic’s cross was kept out by Falcone’s quick reflex save.
Falcone was having a busy night as he finger-tipped Giroud’s header over the bar before Alessio Romagnoli’s header was comfortably saved by the 27-year-old Italian. Late in the match, Rebic had a chance to seal the match but once again Falcone made a decent save and Tonali failed to convert the rebound.
