MILAN: An own goal plus a late strike by Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Serie A leaders AC Milan a 2-0 win over Cesena on Sunday to open up a four-point gap in the standings.
Cesena’s Maximiliano Pelligrino scored an own goal in first-half injury time, and Ibrahimovic doubled the lead just before the final whistle.
Milan should have won by a greater margin but Cesena’s former Milan goalkeeper, Francesco Antonioli, made a number of crucial saves.
“I got a good pass and saw that the goalkeeper was out of position, and I just tried to keep my shot low,” Ibrahimovic said.
“We have to keep our rhythm up and keep going as we have been. What we did today gives us a slight advantage, but now we have to work to extend this lead.”
Milan lead with 44 points. Napoli are next after a 2-0 win at Bari. AS Roma are third, six points behind the leaders, and Lazio are fourth with 37.
Udinese rallied to beat Inter Milan 3-1, inflicting coach Leonardo’s first loss and leaving the defending champions nine points behind their city rivals in fifth place.
Dejan Stankovic gave Inter the lead in the 16th minute and the visitors appeared to be in total control when he went close minutes later.
However, Udinese equalised soon after through Cristian Zapata and, by halftime, were leading 2-1 after Antonio Di Natale scored from a free-kick.
In the second half, Maurizio Domizzi added a third after the defence was again unable to clear the danger, snapping Inter’s run of five straight wins under Leonardo since the Brazilian took over from Rafa Benitez in December.
And it snapped Inter’s run of five straight wins under Leonardo since the Brazilian took over from Rafa Benitez in December.
“We started the match well and with the right mentality,” Leonardo said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t come back, but it is a difficult stadium to come to and Udinese are in great form.”
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