Milan eye Euro spots after victory over lowly Torino
- 18 Feb 2020
AC Milan closed in on the European places in Serie A after Ante Rebic fired them to a 1-0 win over Torino on Monday. Rebic swept home Samu Castillejo’s low pull back in the 25th minute to consign to draw Milan level on 35 points with Hellas Verona, who currently occupy the final Europa League spot on goal difference.
Rebic’s winning goal was his sixth in seven games in all competitions, a run that comes after failing to score at all in the first half of the season.
The Croatian’s strike helped the hosts bounce back from last week’s derby disappointment against Inter Milan to continue a positive run under coach Stefano Pioli that also saw them unlucky not to beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg last week. They have lost just once since the turn of the year — to title-chasing Inter — and are playing well enough to aim for European football next season.
However the Champions League will likely be beyond them thanks to the 10-point gap between them and fourth-placed Atalanta.
Torino meanwhile are inching closer to the relegation zone after their fifth straight defeat, a slump that shows little sign of ending.
They are just five points from the drop despite bringing in Moreno Longo to replace Walter Mazzarri earlier this month.
In Sardinia, Napoli got back to winning ways with a Dries Mertens’ 65th-minute goal sealing a 1-0 success over Cagliari. The Belgian completed a give-and-go with Elseid Hysaj with the ball curling in with a deflection off the post.
It was the 32-year-old’s 120th goal for Napoli, one short of Marek Hamsik’s all-time record, and five ahead of club legend Diego Maradona.
Gattuso’s side overtake Calgiari, moving up to eighth, two points off the Europa League berths, as Cagliari drop to 11th place.
Hellas Verona missed the chance to close in on fifth-placed Roma, who fell 2-1 at Atalanta on Saturday, with a goalless draw at Udinese.
Verona, in sixth, occupy the final Europa League spot ahead of Parma on goal difference, but stay four points behind Roma.
Agence France-Presse