Milan face test of mettle
MILAN: AC Milan host Empoli on Saturday with a slender lead over their Serie A title rivals and a hoodoo to bust against the league's lesser lights. Last weekend's 1-0 win at Napoli allowed them to reclaim top spot and was another in a series of strong performances against the duo they are battling for the Scudetto. It came after last month's Milan derby triumph which was also powered by Olivier Giroud and an impressive display against their local rivals in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final, which however was not rewarded with a goal. But the gap separating Milan from Inter is only two points because of their recent struggles against teams they are odds-on favourite to beat.
The win at Napoli was preceded by draws with bottom side Salernitana -- when they were leading after only four minutes -- and Udinese, another team fighting the drop.
Those two draws allowed Napoli to claim the summit going into the last round of fixtures and they have also lost at home to Spezia, albeit in bizarre circumstances, since the turn of the year.
Milan, who are missing the suspended Theo Hernandez on Saturday, have Cagliari, Bologna, Torino and Genoa coming after Saturday and chance to turn the screws if they can start treating lesser teams like they do the big boys.
"Mentality makes a huge difference, some matches there is a spark and others it's not there," said coach Stefano Pioli ahead of his team's win at Napoli.
"It also depends a bit on tactics because if you don't have any space it's difficult to play, but if a team attacks you there are gaps that allow you to be more effective."
Inter had the good news on Thursday that Marcelo Brozovic should be available for Sunday night's match at Torino after having to leave the field early in their midweek Champions League exit at Anfield.
Brozovic was forced off with a muscle issue with a quarter of an hour remaining in Inter's 1-0 win over Liverpool, which wasn't enough to overturn a 2-0 home defeat by the Reds, with his team already down to 10 men.
- 最近发表
-
- Republicans on abortion
- 共同努力 把雅安建设得更美好
- 两户家庭两美德 文明春风吹暖社区
- 新会大鳌镇:聚力整治中阳高速沿线环境,共绘乡村振兴和美画卷
- By a technicality, August's full moon is blue. Here's why.
- 国家级推介!来珠海莲洲感受休闲意蕴
- 销售假冒名牌产品非法牟取暴利被刑拘
- 雅安绿林派武术“打进”晚宴表演中国功夫
- US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
- 春风吹暖万象新!广东乡村“春日经济”活力足
- 随机阅读
-
- Tesla considers adding a new ‘stuck detection' feature to Cybertruck. Here’s why.
- 雨城区中里片区教研组开展教研活动
- 追“涨”时代 家居也疯狂
- 查超速 检超载 扣违法车辆
- Black Friday GPU Buying Guide: November GPU Pricing Update
- 汉源二中举办书法讲座 弘扬民族文化传承书法艺术
- 投递期间请保持通信畅通
- 从蒙顶山到阿里山 蒙顶皇茶香飘台湾
- First officially approved Gen IV nuclear reactor in the US breaks ground
- 冠军选手将获得价值2万元的电器
- “农友圈”牵手肇庆市供销合作联社,打造“产销技”服务新模式
- 4条农村客运线的65辆班车将实现升级换代
- 16 of the Most Epic Sandwiches Around the Planet
- 疏附县召开2024年度援疆项目工作调度会
- 昔日眼泪流 如今自豪生
- 追“涨”时代 家居也疯狂
- Expanded police surveillance will get us “broken windows” on steroids.
- 餐馆老板七年如一日 为路人设免费休息点
- 亲历者说:三年了 我还想要去汶川看一看
- 军训=昏倒+退缩?中学生体质下降令人忧
- 搜索
-
- 友情链接
-