(Football news) AC Milan were destroyed by Sassuolo 5-2 at home in Serie A on Sunday, as they suffered a fourth defeat in five matches to pile immense pressure on manager Stefano Pioli. There were 11 yellow cards shown to seven Milan players and four to the visitors. The defending Italian champions are fourth in the standings with 38 points. Olivier Giroud thought he had given AC Milan the lead in the eighth minute, but his celebrations were cut short after he was ruled offside by VAR. Sassuolo’s first goal came in the 19th minute when Berardi’s low cross was tapped in by unmarked Gregoire Defrel.
Davide Frattesi went on to double the lead two minutes later when scored from a low shot into the net. Giroud got one goal back for Milan in the 24th minute but Berardi quickly restored Sassuolo’s two-goal lead. Milan’s woes continued in the second half when Armand Lauriente converted a penalty and Matheus Henrique added their fifth 11 minutes from time which was the final nail in the coffin. Milan again had their second goal ruled offside by VAR in the 54th minute as Rebic tapped it in the net but he was offside. Divock Origi grabbed a consolation goal with a well-placed strike from the edge of the box in the 81st minute. Milan now will face Inter in the Milan derby on Feb. 5.
“I feel disappointment, but we don’t get far with disappointment,” Pioli told Sky Sport Italia. “Recent performances show we are struggling, this must push me to understand what situations need to be improved and dealt with differently.
“Our Scudetto this season will be securing a Champions League place, that is the objective.”
“We will make the best decisions to overcome this moment. Next week there’s the derby, we want to react and emerge from this negative situation,” Pioli said
A brilliant goal from Victor Osimhen and a late winner from Giovanni Simeone gave Napoli a 2-1 win against AS Roma on Sunday and took another step closer to ending their 33-year wait to win the Serie A title. Napoli are at the top of the league with 53 points from 20 games, subsequently 13 points ahead of second-placed Inter. Osimhen, who is Serie A’s top scorer put Napoli in front after 17 minutes when he expertly chested down a cross inside the box and sent the ball into the roof of the net with a brilliant volley. The 24-year-old Nigerian has scored 14 goals in Serie A this season.
Meret was forced into an excellent full-stretch save to stop Bryan Cristante’s header after a corner in the 61st minute. The Roma keeper saved a shot from a Napoli counter-attack three minutes later. The capital side equalised in the 75th minute when substitute Stephan El Shaarawy tipped in a cross from an acute angle. Four minutes before 90 minutes, Simone got the ball at the edge of the box as he turned around and put it into the upper right corner and sent the fans at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium into a frenzy.
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