Atalanta go third but Calhanoglu keeps AC Milan in chase

MILAN: Unheralded Atalanta moved third in Serie A on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Genoa edging the Bergamo side closer to a first-ever Champions League qualification with two games left this season.

Musa Barrow and Timothy Castagne’s second-half goals sent Atalanta two points clear of Inter Milan, who played already-relegated Chievo late yesterday.

But AC Milan responded with Hakan Calhanoglu heading in the only goal against Fiorentina to boost Gennaro Gattuso’s team’s hopes of a return to elite European football for the first time since 2013-2014.

AC Milan are fifth, one point behind Inter, with Roma a further three points adrift in sixth before they host champions Juventus later yesterday.

“Today’s win was really important, as the closer we get to the finish line, the more decisive each point becomes,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

“Mathematically, we have only a few points left to go, but it also puts us in a better state of mind going into the Coppa Italia final.

Juventus and Napoli have already qualified for next season’s Champions League, but behind them the scramble is frenetic in the chase for the two remaining berths.

The victory is a boost for Gasperini’s side who head to Rome on Wednesday to play the Coppa Italia final against Lazio.

“The Champions League is a dream,” said Castagne.

“We realised we could fight for fourth place when we completed the comeback against Roma, then beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia.

In Florence, French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko started for Milan despite his touchline bustup with Gattuso during last Monday’s win over Bologna as the team push for a top-four finish.

Turkish midfielder Calhanoglu headed in Suso’s cross on 35 minutes for his second league goal this season, condemning 13thplaced Fiorentina to their fourth consecutive defeat.

Lazio beat Cagliari 2-1 in Sardinia to sit seventh, five points adrift of Inter and the top four.