Milan fourth after battling back to beat Parma
Sassuolo drop out of the European places
MILAN, Dec 2, (AFP): Injury-hit AC Milan got back to winning ways in Serie A on Sunday as secondhalf goals from Patrick Cutrone and Franck Kessie saw them come from behind to beat promoted Parma 2-1.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side fell 2-0 to Juventus and were held 1-1 by Lazio in their previous two league games the win at the San Siro takes them fourth, two points ahead of the Romans who travel to bottom club Chievo later on Sunday.
It was a hard-fought victory for Milan, days after competing in the Europa League and with a number of players missing.
Alessio Romagnoli, Mattia Caldara, Lucas Biglia and Giacomo Bonaventura are all injured, with Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain suspended.
“This is a precious win because we played against a team who can trouble you in every moment,” said Gattuso.
“This team is incredible, the boys always show grit, determination and sense of belonging. They are giving their all, it’s easy to coach a group like that.”
Roberto Inglese nodded in his fourth goal this season for Parma from a corner five minutes after the break but Milan pulled one back six minutes later thanks to Cutrone volleying home.
Kessie slotted in Milan’s second from the spot on 71 minutes after Alessandro Bastoni was deemed after consultation with VAR to have handled the ball.
“It’s disappointing to come home with zero points despite having played well,” said Parma coach Roberto D’Aversa.
Cagliari’s Marco Sau (left), and Frosinone’s Raffaele Maiello vie for the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Frosinone and Cagliari at the Benito Stirpe Stadium in Frosinone, Italy on Dec
2. (AP)
Parma drop to eighth and are now five points behind AC Milan who occupy the final Champions League berth.
Torino — with coach Walter Mazzarri back on the bench after a health scare — also rallied past 10-man Genoa 2-1 to move sixth and the Europa League places.
Genoa had to play with a man less for over an hour after Romulo was sent off for two bookings in three minutes, but Christian Kouame nevertheless put the visitors ahead after 36 minutes when he beat the offside trap to fire in from close range.
The home side, welcoming former manager Claudio Ranieri back to Stamford Bridge in the Fulham dugout, were quickly into their stride against their neighbours and were ahead inside four minutes.
N’Golo Kante — publicly criticized by his manager for his positioning in the match against Spurs — was instrumental in the opening goal, dispossessing Jean Michael Seri in the middle of the pitch and feeding the ball to Pedro on the right side of the penalty box.
The winger stepped inside onto his left foot and fired the ball into the far corner.
Pedro’s strike was Chelsea’s 1,000th home goal in the Premier League — they are the third club to reach the landmark after Manchester United and Arsenal.
Chelsea dominated the remainder of the first half, with Sergio Rico saving smartly with his feet from Olivier Giroud shortly before half-time but they failed to convert their dominance into clear-cut chances.
Fulham started the match rooted to the foot of the table but lifted by last week’s victory in Ranieri’s first match as boss, which followed six straight Premier League defeats.
Ranieri made two substitutions for the second half, bringing on Floyd Ayite and Aboubakar Kamara for Stefan Johansen and Ryan Sessegnon.
Fulham, playing with more urgency, twice went close to an equalizer through defender Calum Chambers.