Milan is 4 points away from the Serie A title

After the fourth win in a row, Milan reached 80 points, two points more than Inter. This is the first time the red-black team has reached this milestone in Serie A since the 2011-2012 season. At that time, they also had 80 points, but after 38 rounds.

In addition, Milan has a better head-to-head record than Inter, with a 1-1 draw in phase one and a 2-1 win in phase two. In Serie A, if two teams are equal on points, the head-to-head record is the first criterion to be considered. So, just need to win four more points in the remaining two matches, against Atalanta 15/5 and Sassuolo May 22, respectively, Milan will win the championship. The last time Milan won the Scudetto was the 2010-2011 season, when it reached 82 points – more than the main Inter six points.

Yesterday, Milan lacked Simon Kjaer due to injury, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ante Rebic and Alessandro Florenzi were not in the best shape to start. Coach Stefano Pioli also made changes compared to the 1-0 win over Fiorentina in the previous round, when Rade Krunic and Alexis Saelemaekers replaced Brahim Diaz and Junior Messias.

With a superior performance compared to the opponent standing in the middle of the scoreboard, Milan entered the game overwhelmingly and soon had opportunities. In the 15th minute, Sandro Tonali controlled the long pass of goalkeeper Mike Maignan, overcame the block of Ivan Ilic and then shot diagonally into the home net. The Verona players reacted, claiming that Tonali pulled the shirt with Ilic. VAR then stepped in, and Milan’s goal was denied for… offside.

Three minutes later, in almost the same angle, right-back Davide Calabria – when coming up to join the attack – also shot from the corner, but was saved by goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo with his foot. In the 27th minute, Rade Krunic fired a cannon from outside the penalty area, hitting a Verona player and then flying over the bar.

In the second half of the first half, the new host pushed the squad high and created waves towards the goal of Milan. In the 35th minute, Giovanni Simeone penetrated the penalty area and hit the edge of the net. Two minutes later, the hosts went ahead when Darko Lazovic crossed the ball to Davide Faraoni’s header into an empty net.

If the result is maintained until the end of the match, Milan will lose the top of the table to Inter – the team that won Empoli 4-2 in the early kick – and lose the right to self-determination in the championship race. However, Milan turned the tide in a few minutes thanks to the shine of Sandro Tonali.

In the third minute of stoppage time, the Italian midfielder stepped into an empty net after Rafael Leao’s cross to equalize the score. In the 50th minute, Tonali scored again according to the same scenario to put Milan ahead. Tonali – born May 8 – became the third Milan player to score on his birthday in Serie A since January 1, 2000, after Jose Mari against Lecce on December 10, 2000 and Stephan El Shaarawy against Lecce on December 10, 2000. met Genoa on October 27, 2012.

Four minutes before the official time ended, Alessandro Florenzi coordinated with Junior Messias and then shot across the corner, setting the score 3-1 for Milan.

This weekend, Milan host Atalanta in the last match at home, while Inter are guests of Cagliari – the club ranks 18th and is fighting for relegation.

Squad

Verona: Montipo, Gunter, Ceccherini (Sutalo 79), Casale (Hongla 66), Ilic, Tameze, Lazovic, Faraoni (Depaoli 66), Simeone (Lasagna 72), Caprari, Barak.

AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, Kalulu, Hernandez, Calabria (Florenzi 85), Krunic (Bennacer 68), Kessie, Tonali, Giroud (Rebic 62), Leao (Ibrahimovic 84), Saelemaekers (Messias 63).

Hong Duy