Juventus move closer to 7th successive title as AC Milan push Hellas Verona in Serie B

Juventus had to come back from a Simone Verdi penalty to beat Bologna, as substitute Douglas Costa transformed the game with two assists.

It took only a few minutes for Antonio Mirante to be called into action, sticking out a foot to parry Gonzalo Higuain’s angled drive on a Claudio Marchisio through ball.

Bologna weren’t holding back and Juan Cuadrado was booked for a foul on Andrea Poli, meaning he’ll be suspended against Roma.

Mirante performed another smart save on Alex Sandro’s header from a Paulo Dybala free kick, then La Joya didn’t make the most of a gifted back-pass from Simone Romagnoli.

However, moments later, Lorenzo Crisetig did pounce on a poor Gigi Buffon pass and was pushed in the back by Daniele Rugani for a penalty. After a very long wait amid VAR technical problems, Simone Verdi – the man who nearly joined Napoli in January – showed immense confidence to roll it down the middle and put Bologna ahead.

Juve struggled to mount a comeback, Higuain’s twisting header too soft to surprise Mirante. Douglas Costa was thrown on for Blaise Matuidi and made an immediate impact, his cross just past Cuadrado at the back post within 60 seconds.

The hosts benefited from a

Serie A

Yesterday stroke of luck to equalise, as Cuadrado’s hopeful cross from the right was shinned into his own net by Sebastien De Maio in an entirely unnecessary gesture.

Douglad Costa transformed Juventus and squirmed between two defenders, turned on the turbo for an angled drive that Mirante got a finger to and Cuadrado couldn’t turn in the rebound.

However, Juventus turned the game around completely with yet another Douglas Costa cross, as this time it sailed over Mirante and found Sami Khedira unmarked for a tap-in at the back post. Cheick Keita complained he had been pushed in the back, but the referee allowed it.

Douglas Costa was simply tearing Bologna to shreds, this time using his strength to shake off a defender and pull back from the by-line for Dybala, who was ready for the tap-in from six yards.

AC Milan retained its European ambitions and relegated Hellas Verona from Serie A in a 4-1 win yesterday.

Hakan Calhanoglu, Patrick Cutrone and Ignazio Abate gave Milan a commanding lead. Fabio Borini netted Milan's fourth, and Lee Seung-woo bagged a late consolation for Verona.

The win moved Milan up to sixth, the final qualifying place for the Europa League.

With two matches left, Verona cannot achieve safety and joined

Serie B

Yesterday bottom side Benevento in going straight back down to Serie B.

Milan lost to Benevento in its previous home match but started brightly at San Siro, with Suso and Cutrone both testing Verona goalkeeper Marco Silvestri quickly.

They took the lead in the 10th minute when Suso put in a low cross from the right for Calhanoglu to fire in despite Thomas Heurtaux's attempt to clear it off the line.

Calhanoglu almost doubled his tally but clipped the outside of the post.

The second goal came when Cutrone controlled Giacomo Bonaventura's through ball with his back to goal and swivelled before drilling the ball into the bottom left corner.

The hosts started the second half as they ended the first. Abate picked out Suso on the right before racing into the area to gather the return pass and fire into the top left corner. It was the defender's first Serie A goal since December 2015 and his first at San Siro.

Romulo hit the bar with a free kick for Verona, and the visitors got one back five minutes from time. A corner was headed clear but only as far as Lee, who volleyed into the top left corner from the edge of the area.

Borini restored Milan's threegoal advantage four minutes later with an angled drive after a cross from Bonaventura.

Serie C - Group A

Yesterday