AC Milan on track to win Serie A after goalkeeping blunder

Goalkeeping blunders continue to make a major impact on the Serie A title race.

Following inexcusable errors by Inter Milan's and Napoli's goalkeepers in recent matches, AC Milan was the beneficiary of a massive mistake by Fiorentina's 'keeper in the final 10 minutes of a 1-0 win Sunday that kept the Rossoneri on track for their first Italian league title in more than a decade.

Pietro Terracciano's clearance attempt landed right at the feet of Rafael Leão and the Milan striker quickly strode into Fiorentina's area and shot past the unfortunate goalkeeper.

Terracciano then buried his head in his arms as he sat distraught on the San Siro field, while the goal whipped the crowd into a frenzy even though Leão kept his celebration to a minimum — just creating the shape of a heart with his fingers.

"It's the greatest moment for a footballer — to score a decisive goal," Leão said. "But the most important thing was the victory, because we created a lot and perhaps we were a bit anxious in front of the goal."

With three matches remaining, Milan remained two points ahead of defending champion Inter, which won 2-1 at Udinese later.

Milan, which also holds the tiebreaker edge over Inter, controls its own destiny as it attempts to seal its first Serie A title since 2011. Two wins and a draw in Milan's remaining matches would be enough for the "scudetto" — no matter what Inter does.

Inter, meanwhile, was still getting over the mistake that reserve goalkeeper Ionuţ Radu made in a 2-1 loss at Bologna midweek.

Attempting to clear following a throw in, Radu instead kicked the ball toward his own net and Bologna's Nicola Sansone had the final touch to make sure it went in for the winner.

Last weekend, Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret took too long to clear and when he finally did try to launch the ball away from his goal, Andrea Pinamonti was right on top of him and the ball ricocheted off the Empoli striker and into Meret's net. That mistake helped Empoli to a 3-2 comeback win and virtually eliminated third-place Napoli from the title race.

Milan, which extended its unbeaten streak to 13 matches, plays Hellas Verona, Atalanta and Sassuolo in its last three games of the season.

"The next matches are like finals and we've got to win them to achieve our objective," Leão said.

After the debacle at Bologna, Inter responded with a more convincing performance at Udinese.

Ivan Perisic put the Nerrazzurri ahead early by redirecting in a corner with a header. Then Lautaro Martinez doubled the advantage before the break by nodding in the rebound of his own penalty kick, which hit the post.

Ignacio Pussetto pulled one back for Udinese midway through the second half.

Defender Leonardo Bonucci scored twice as Juventus virtually sealed a Champions League spot with a 2-1 win over lastplace Venezia.

On his 35th birthday, Bonucci first scored with a header following a free kick then found the target following a corner for the winner after Mattia Aramu had equalized for Venezia.

Fourth-place Juventus moved 10 points ahead of fifth-place Lazio and within one point of Napoli.

Venezia, which fired coach Paolo Zanetti on Wednesday and put youth team coach Andrea Soncin in charge, lost its ninth straight.

Venezia remained six points behind 17th-place Cagliari.

Also, Torino striker Andrea Belotti scored three goals in the final 12 minutes of a 3-1 win at Empoli, which ended with nine men.

Arsenal heads closer to CL return with 2-1 win at West Ham

Headers from defenders Gabriel and Rob Holding nudged Arsenal closer to a return to the Champions League with a 2-1 victory at West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.

The goals from corners in each half provided an instant response to Tottenham beating Leicester 3-1, ensuring Arsenal retained its two-point lead in fourth place over its north London rival. The remaining four games include a derby trip for Arsenal to Tottenham on May 12.

Bukayo Saka was an influential figure throughout and Arsenal would have won more comfortably had Eddie Nketiah not been so wasteful

But Nketiah did force a save from goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski that led to the corner that the opener was scored from in the 38th minute. Saka picked out Holding, who nodded in his first Premier League goal almost six years after his debut.

Declan Rice was at the heart of West Ham's response that saw the hosts level just before halftime. The midfielder drew a smart save from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale before launching the move that led to a goal. A long pass into the box found Vladimír Coufal and the Czech defender controlled the ball brilliantly before picking out Bowen, whose shot deflected off Gabriel and into the net.

The second half started at a frantic pace as Bowen was shown a yellow card for simulation as he avoided Ramsdale's lunge, amid a breathless spell for West Ham that ended abruptly when Arsenal scored again.

Once again the visitors pounced from a corner as the ball found Gabriel Martinelli, who crossed to his unmarked namesake and fellow Brazilian for a diving header that beat Fabianski at the far post in the 54th minute.

A flare hurled from the away fans' section was cleared off the pitch and play resumed with Nketiah failing to make the most of a strong chance as Arsenal broke incisively.

Nketiah's wasteful afternoon continued as he sent his best opportunity yet wide of the right post, but Arsenal had already done enough for the win that ended seventh-place West Ham's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League through the Premier League. It can still qualify by winning the Europa League but the east London club must first overturn a 2-1 deficit against Eintracht Frankfurt in the semifinals on Thursday.

Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for 19 successive seasons until failing to do so in 2017.

Monaco closes on CL spot by beating Angers in French league

Monaco stretched its winning run to seven games to pull within three points of secondplace Marseille in the race for Champions League spots by downing Angers 2-0 in the French league on Sunday.

Monaco took the lead in the 42nd minute with an own-goal from Angers wingback Abdoulaye Bamba. France international Wissam Ben Yedder capitalized on a counterattack in the 61st to notch his 21st league goal, just three behind league top scorer Kylian Mbappe.

Monaco stayed fourth, level on points with Rennes, which has a much better goal difference.

The top two French clubs enter the group stage of the Champions League while the third-place team goes to the third qualifying round of the lucrative European competition.

Nice secured a 1-0 win at Bordeaux to remain fifth, two points off the Europa League spot. Andy Delort pounced on a loose ball to score a poacher's goal in the 74th. Bordeaux remained 19th, four points off the relegation playoff spot.

Nice will also have a chance of getting a European spot when it faces Nantes in the French Cup final next weekend.

Bottom side Metz hurt its chances of survival by drawing with Montpellier 2-2. Metz took a 2-0 lead with goals from Thomas Delaine in the 24th and Louis Mafouta in the 70th. But Montpellier wing back Arnaud Souquet pulled one back in the 80th before teenage striker Elye Wahi equalized in stoppage time.

"That reflects our season," Mafouta told Amazon Prime Video. "We concede two goals in the last 10 minutes. Usually, that's when we must be strong mentally. Unfortunately, we cracked today. Very disappointed."

Metz extended its winless streak to 14 games and is six points off the relegation playoff spot with just three rounds left.

Midtable Lille had its European hopes dashed when it conceded three penalties and had Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches and Turkey forward Burak Yilmaz sent off in a 3-0 defeat at Troyes.