Juve extend lead; 9-man Milan win
rome — Champions Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points with a 2-0 win at Crotone as nine-man AC Milan stunned Bologna 1-0 on Wednesday.
Having seen their lead cut by Roma’s 4-0 success over Fiorentina on Tuesday, second-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain kept Massimiliano Allegri’s team on course for a sixth straight scudetto.
“We could have done better in the first half, especially in the speed of our passing, but overall we were organised, giving away little or nothing and approaching the game with lucidity and organisation,” said Allegri.
“Roma and Napoli (third at nine points) are playing well, but we’re thinking about keeping our concentration on what we have to do.
“Also tonight, for example, we didn’t concede a goal and that’s something positive.”
The defeat leaves Crotone languishing in 19th place and nine points from safety.
The Calabrians did not disgrace themselves and proved stubborn opposition for an hour.
But they ran out of steam as Croatian Mandzukic converted a rebound following a header from Kwadwo Asamoah on 60 minutes. With 16 minutes left, Higuain calmly slotted home when faced with only goalkeeper Alex Cordaz to beat. That took his season’s tally to 16 league goals, just one shy of Serie A’s top scorer Edin Dzeko, who bagged a brace for Roma on Tuesday.