AC Milan cruised to a 3-0 victory over Empoli on Saturday, narrowing the gap to Serie A’s European places to just three points.
Álvaro Morata ended his two-month league goal drought, while Tijjani Reijnders scored in each half with superb finishes to secure a comfortable win at a foggy San Siro.
Milan remain seventh in the table with 22 points, three behind Juventus, who currently occupy the Conference League spot and will face struggling Lecce on Sunday.
Paulo Fonseca’s side have a game in hand but trail the top four by six points and are seven adrift of league leaders Napoli, who visit Torino on Sunday afternoon. Despite the gap, Reijnders maintains that Milan still have their sights set on the title, with a crucial trip to high-flying Atalanta coming next weekend.
“Of course, we’re thinking about it because we want to compete for titles, and the position we’re in now is not where we want to be,” he told DAZN.
Empoli, boasting Serie A’s fourth-best defence coming into the match, remain 10th, failing to score at the San Siro for the fifth consecutive encounter.
Saturday’s result lifted the spirits of the 68,000 Milan fans who braved the chilly weather and dense fog, which at times obscured the pitch and stands, particularly during the first half.
Milan were jeered off the field after a lacklustre goalless draw with Juventus last weekend but responded emphatically. Morata opened the scoring with a powerful strike in the 19th minute, his fourth goal of the season.
Reijnders doubled the lead with a clinical first-time effort just before half-time and sealed the victory in the second half with a brilliant driving run and finish, taking his season tally to six goals.
“We were excellent both in attack and defence… We won 3-0 but created enough chances to score six or seven,” said Fonseca.
Elsewhere, Como and Monza remain in the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw earlier in the day, while Bologna were set to face bottom-placed Venezia in the evening fixture.