Milan’s title hopes in tatters after Udinese defeat
AC Milan relinquished any remaining hope of winning the Serie A title last Saturday after falling to a shock 3-0 home defeat by Udinese, while Juventus beat Atalanta 1-0 to move into the Champions League positions.
A Davide Bartesaghi own goal and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp's glancing header in the first half, and Arthur Atta's superb low finish in the 71st minute, left Milan nine points behind Inter Milan ahead of the league leaders' clash at Como on Sunday.
With six matches remaining in their season, even an Inter loss at Como would leave third-placed Milan with a near-impossible gap to close.
And a Como win would not be good news either as the lakeside outfit currently sit fifth and five points behind Milan, who have lost three of four matches since winning last month's Milan derby, after Juve moved provisionally fourth.
Jeremie Boga bundled home the only goal in an uneventful match in Bergamo, the day after coach Luciano Spalletti – hired with the aim of getting Juve into the Champions League – signed a new deal with the Turin club until 2028.
Milan host Juve in a fortnight, a match which looks likely to be key to the top-four positions come May, and Allegri described as "right" the loud whistles which accompanied the end of the game at the San Siro.
"This defeat should make us understand that our qualification for the Champions League is under threat," Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said to DAZN.
Napoli's Serie A title defence suffered a blow with yesterday's 1-1 draw at Parma which gave league leaders Inter Milan the chance to move nine points clear.
Scott McTominay's drilled finish on the hour mark gave Napoli a draw which may well not be enough for the champions to claim a third Scudetto in four seasons.
Napoli trail Inter by six points, a gap which could increase following the late match between the Milan giants and Champions League chasers Como.
Parma are level on 36 points with Genoa, who also took a step towards safety with a tumultuous 2-1 win over Sassuolo in the day's early fixture. Both teams were down to 10 men for the second half following a tunnel bust-up.
Caleb Ekuban tapped home Genoa's winner with six minutes remaining in front of a typically passionate crowd at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris who watched their team move nine points clear away from the relegation zone in 13th.
