It was Milan’s third consecutive 1-0 league win and they are now on 66 points from 30 games, three points above second-placed Napoli and six above third-placed Inter.
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Ismael Bennacer’s lone strike was enough for AC Milan to get the better of Cagliari in the Serie A fixture at Sardegna Arena on Saturday. The victory helped Stefano Pioli’s side to consolidate the top spot in the points table. It was Milan’s third consecutive 1-0 league win and they are now on 66 points from 30 games, three points above second-placed Napoli, who beat Udinese 2-1 earlier in the day and six above third-placed Inter, who have a game in hand. Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Fiorentina at San Siro.
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#CagliariMilan: mission accomplished ✅
Missione compiuta alla Domus Arena ?⚫#SempreMilan @Acqua_Lete pic.twitter.com/YIPOuaczz1
— AC Milan (@acmilan) March 19, 2022
The Rossoneri could have taken the lead inside the opening seven minutes when Junior Messias headed down a Theo Hernandez cross to the path of Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman’s volley from six yards out went over the crossbar. Franck Kessie’s powerful long-range effort thumped the upright before Brahim Diaz curled wide from a good position.
At the other end, Alberto Grassi’s shot from outside the box went wide. Giorgio Altare made an important block on Messias from close range. Milan dominated the opening half and the hosts struggled to create any clear-cut-opportunities.
After the break, Hernandez’s long-ranger was finger-tipped over the crossbar by Alessio Cragno. And then, the visitors deservedly broke the deadlock on 59 minutes. Giroud laid the ball to Bennacer on the edge of the box and the Algerian midfielder’s first-time volley went past Cragno into the bottom corner of the net.
It was a historic goal, as the only other time Milan scored in 15 consecutive away games during one Serie A season was in 1967-68, when they went on to take the Scudetto. In response, Joao Pedro’s effort deflected inches over the bar. Davide Calabria lead a breakaway move and spreaded the ball to Ante Rebic on the left before collecting the ball inside the box, but Cragno stood firm to deny the full-back from a one-on-one situation.
Cagliari had a golden opportunity in the final minute when Gabriele Zappa’s cross found a diving Leonardo Pavoletti header that bounced onto the crossbar, then Bennacer charged down Razvan Marin’s follow-up, allowing Maignan to smother.
The pressure was on Simone Inzaghi’s side, who had crashed out of the Champions League and fallen down to third place in Serie A. But it was Fiorentina who started the match on the driving seat as Nico Gonzalez teested Samir Handanovic with a long-range effort before Pietro Terracciano came off his line to parry Edin Dzeko. Lautaro Martinez had the ball inside the net on 40 minutes but was ruled off-side.
After the break, Arturo Vidal forced a save from Terracciano before Nicolo Barella’s effort from the rebound went over the bar. Fiorentina broke the deadlock on 50 minutes. Gaetano Castrovilli’s through ball found Nico Gonzalez whose cut back was fired into the roof of the net by Lucas Torreira from six yards out.
But Inter leveled the score five minutes later when left-back Ivan Perisic’s floating cross to the back post was headed home by Denzel Dumfries. A penalty was awarded for Lorenzo Venuti trip on Lautaro Martinez, but it was revoked after a VAR intervention.
