AC Milan cruised past 10-man Lecce 3-0 on Saturday to maintain second position in Serie A, while Roma defeated local rivals Lazio 1-0 to bolster their Champions League prospects.
Early goals from Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud, as well as Rafael Leao’s clever finish shortly before the hour mark, helped Milan move 11 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan, who face struggling Udinese on Monday.
However, with the title all but decided, Stefano Pioli’s in-form side is on the verge of securing Champions League football, trailing third-placed Juventus by nine points following their seventh consecutive win in all competitions.
Juve play Fiorentina on Sunday with only seven points from their last nine league games, and if Bologna wins at Frosinone, the Turin giants might find themselves in fourth place before kickoff.
A simple victory at the San Siro was also ideal preparation for Milan’s Europa League quarterfinals match against Roma.
“We feel good and played the game as planned in training…” Now we have to focus about the Europa League quarter-final, which is a completely different type of game and a major goal for both clubs,” Pioli told DAZN.
Lecce remain 13th, four points above the relegation zone, but were furious about two decisions that contributed to their crushing defeat.
Nikola Krstovic was startled when he was awarded a straight red card on the stroke of halftime for accidentally studding Samuel Chukwueze.
By that point, the visiting team was already on the verge of defeat, with Pulisic’s deflected strike putting Milan up three points after five minutes, and Giroud heading home Yacine Adli’s corner 14 minutes later.
Leao then scored Milan’s third goal in the 57th minute, while Lecce winger Pontus Almqvist lay on the ground after being shoulder barged over by Theo Hernandez and then accidently kneed in the head by the France left-back.
Lecce owner Saverio Sticchi Damiani was seen ironically clapping from the stands as home fans celebrated Leao’s sixth league goal of the season.
Roma’s derby delight
Daniele De Rossi’s Roma won their first local derby in more than two years and made sure of fifth spot in Italy’s top flight for another week, five points ahead of Atalanta who are at Cagliari on Sunday and have another game in hand.
Serie A is leading the race for an extra spot in next year’s Champions League, meaning a top-five finish could be enough for Roma to qualify for Europe’s leading club competition for the first time since 2018.
Gianluca Mancini ensured Roma would have bragging rights in the capital city with a bullet header three minutes before half-time at the Stadio Olimpico.
Italy defender Mancini thumped home his fifth goal of the season from Paulo Dybala’s corner to give Roma a deserved win, after which both players jumped into the stands to celebrate with delirious fans.
“My heart’s still thumping… I’m the happiest man in the world,” said Mancini to DAZN.
“We hadn’t won a derby for a long time so this is for them (the fans), they deserve it. The goal is a great feeling once the game is over but the important thing was making sure we got the points.”
Former Roma captain De Rossi won his first Rome derby as coach at the first attempt after four without a win under his predecessor Jose Mourinho.
Nominal hosts Roma were unlucky not to win more convincingly as they had the better of the chances and Stephan El Shaarawy struck a great chance against the post just after half-time.
De Rossi was also boosted by the return of England international striker Tammy Abraham, who replaced Dybala with 11 minutes remaining to make his first appearance since tearing knee ligaments at the end of last season.
Lazio are nine points behind Roma in seventh and can be overtaken this weekend by Napoli, Fiorentina and Torino, who are at Empoli in Saturday’s late match.