AC Milan snatches stoppage-time winner to stay top of Serie A

Hernandez scored from a corner in the 92nd minute to leave Milan, still unbeaten this season, top of Serie A with 34 points, one ahead of Inter Milan.

Published : Dec 24, 2020 07:52 IST

Theo Hernandez of AC Milan celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's third goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 23, 2020 in Milan, Italy.
Theo Hernandez of AC Milan celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's third goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 23, 2020 in Milan, Italy.
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Theo Hernandez of AC Milan celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's third goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 23, 2020 in Milan, Italy.

AC Milan snatched a stoppage-time winner with a Theo Hernandez header to beat Lazio 3-2 at home and stay top of Serie A on Wednesday after the visitor had earlier hit back from two goals behind.

Hernandez scored from a corner in the 92nd minute to leave Milan, still unbeaten this season, top of Serie A with 34 points, one ahead of Inter Milan which earlier won 2-1 at Verona for its seventh successive league win.

Milan had raced to a 2-0 lead in less than 20 minutes through an Ante Rebic header and Hakan Calhanoglu penalty before Luis Alberto pulled one back and Ciro Immobile levelled in the 59th minute.

 

Milan's win was made all the more impressive as it was missing several key players including talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, defender Simon Kjaer and midfielder Ismael Bennacer.

Rebic put Milan in front in the 10th minute with a looping header from a Calhanoglu cross, and the host went further ahead seven minutes later. Patric knocked over Rebic in the area; the referee awarded a penalty and Calhanoglu converted.

Lazio was also awarded a penalty following a VAR review after Joaquin Correa was tripped by Pierre Kalulu in the 28th minute. Immobile stepped up and saw his kick saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma but Luis Alberto snapped up the rebound.

 

Lazio equalised with a trademark goal just before the hour as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic floated a ball over the Milan defence and Immobile met it with an angled volley for his ninth league goal of the season.

Lazio looked capable of winning the game, but instead, it was Milan which stole the points as Hernandez continued his excellent season by grabbing the winner with almost the last touch of the game.

 

Roma goes third

AS Roma bounced back from Sunday's mauling at Atalanta to beat Cagliari in a 3-2 thriller on Wednesday and move back up to third in Serie A.

Jordan Veretout volleyed Roma in front in the 11th minute, despite not making proper contact with Rick Karsdorp's cross, and Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno kept the score down with several outstanding saves before halftime.

Having survived the onslaught, the Sardinians levelled in the 59th minute when Joao Pedro took advantage after Roma lost possession.

 

The host replied with two goals in six minutes from Edin Dzeko and Gianluca Mancini. Joao Pedro pulled one back from a penalty in stoppage time.

Roma, beaten 4-1 at Atalanta on Sunday after a second-half performance which left coach Paulo Fonseca fuming, has 27 points, seven behind leader AC Milan.

Torino held to a draw

A stoppage-time equaliser from Lorenzo Insigne gave Napoli a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Torino on Wednesday as it snapped a two-game losing streak in Serie A.

After an uneventful first half, the home side wasted a decent chance early in the second when it was awarded a free-kick in a central position but Insigne's tame strike was comfortably dealt with by Salvatore Sirigu.

 

The visitor took a shock lead when a well-worked corner found Armando Izzo on the far side of the penalty area and he sent the ball looping over Alex Meret and into the net.

Torino looked to be heading for only its second win of the season until Zielinski picked out Insigne with a pass deep in stoppage-time. Insigne fired home a wonderful goal to snatch a well-deserved point for Napoli.

The result leaves Torino bottom of the table with eight points after 14 games, while Napoli is fifth on 25 points, nine behind leader AC Milan, which beat Lazio 3-2.

Inter keeps up pace

Inter Milan kept up the pressure on neighbour AC Milan when Milan Skriniar's header gave it a 2-1 win at Verona in Serie A on Wednesday.

The win moved Inter to the top of Serie A with 33 points, two ahead of AC Milan who began the day as leaders and were at home to Lazio later on Wednesday.

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