Milan restored their two-point lead over Inter at the top of Serie A with a 3-1 away victory over Hellas Verona on Sunday evening.
The Rossoneri had to come from behind after Davide Faraoni opened the scoring in the first half, but Sandro Tonali’s brace and a late Alessandro Florenzi effort saw them secure a vital win.
The result means that if Milan win their final two Serie A games against Atalanta and Sassuolo they will be crowned champions.
Rade Krunic – a surprise inclusion in the starting lineup – had the first chance of the game inside 14 minutes, rising high to draw a save out of Lorenzo Montipo.
Seconds later Milan thought they had opened the scoring. Tonali latched onto a long ball and spun his marker before slotting it into the far corner for what would have been his fourth Serie A strike of the season – had it not been ruled out for a marginal offside following a VAR check.
Just four minutes later Davide Calabria’s forward run was picked out by Tonali but the Milan captain’s shot was well kept out by Montipo.
Verona had chances of their own, though. Just after the half-hour Giovanni Simeone was slipped through on goal, but put his shot the wrong side of the near post.
Not to worry, as a few minutes later the hosts did find the opener. Milan were cut open by some neat build-up play with Darko Lazovic eventually crossing for Faraoni to score.
Milan were looking at a 1-0 half-time deficit, but Rafael Leao had other ideas. Picking the ball up on the left-hand side, he beat two players and fizzed across the box, where it was turned in by Tonali.
The Rossoneri came out strong in the second half and a few minutes after the restart they found themselves in front. Tonali was the scorer again, ghosting in at the back post to again convert a Leao cross after the Brazilian had made a breathtaking run forward.
After creating two goals, Leao had the chance to make the net bulge himself a fraction after the hour mark, but his tame effort was easily batted away.
Milan had their fair share of defending to do before full time with centre-backs Fikayo Tomori and Pierre Kalulu gobbling up Verona’s flurry of crosses before Florenzi made sure of the points five minutes from time.
The right-back combined neatly with fellow substitute Junior Messias before striking the ball low and hard beyond the reach of Montipo – much to the delight of the near 16,000 Milan supporters who had apparently found a route inside the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Here are your player ratings from northern Italy…
GK: Mike Maignan – 6/10 – Little he could do for the goal. Went about his work effectively other than that.
RB: Davide Calabria – 6/10 – Nearly scored in the first half after making a great run forward. Dependable in the other direction.
CB: Pierre Kalulu – 7/10 – One or two lapses aside, he was fairly comfortable at the back and registered four tackles. Distributed nicely, including some nice long balls.
CB: Fikayo Tomori – 8/10 – Characteristically composed, even when Verona had a few moments in the first half. Surely, surely, surely he makes the next England squad?
LB: Theo Hernandez – 5/10 – Delivery was excellent as always, but his attitude to defensive responsibilities was concerningly relaxed. Had to be bailed out by Tomori more than once.
CM: Sandro Tonali – 8/10 – Showed a striker’s instinct to swivel his man and score early on – only for it to be ruled. Made up for that for popping up in the right place at the right time twice. Has improved so much this season.
CM: Franck Kessie – 7/10 – Dropped deeper than normal and impressed in a combative role.
RW: Alexis Saelemaekers – 6/10 – Started strongly, creating plenty and pulling off a few neat tricks. Eventually faded and was subbed.
AM: Rade Krunic – 6/10 – He was not expected to start but impressed in the first half, working hard and looking dangerous on the ball. Taken off after an hour or so.
LW: Rafael Leao – 9/10 – His side’s creative fulcrum. Basically won this game for Milan with two stunning assists.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 6/10 – Not his best day. His hold-up play was decent but he failed to find the back of the net with his scant chances. Drew a lot of fouls.
SUB: Junior Messias (RW) – 6/10 – Set up the clincher with a well-weighted pass but missed a sitter at the death.
SUB: Ante Rebic (ST) – 6/10
SUB: Ismael Bennacer (CM) – 6/10
SUB: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (ST) – N/A
SUB: Alessandro Florenzi (RB) – 7/10 – Settled the game with a fine goal seconds after coming on.
