AC Milan have taken a provisional three-point lead at the top of Serie A after Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Torino at San Siro which was their sixth in a row. Though perhaps more notably on Tuesday, Salernitana secured a rare road win to keep themselves alive and well in the battle to, at least, avoid relegation.
AC Milan 1, Torino 0
Olivier Giroud’s 14th minute goal was enough for the Rossoneri to claim all three points and they have now put the pressure on Napoli ahead of their clash with Bologna on Thursday.
Stefano Pioli’s men remain unbeaten after 10 rounds of games and are a provisional 10 points clear of bitter rivals Inter Milan in third as a gap has started to emerge in front of the chasing pack.
Next up for Milan are Jose Mourinho’s Roma who face a tricky clash with Cagliari on Wednesday who now find themselves bottom of the table after Salernitana’s unexpected win away at Venezia on Tuesday.
Venezia 1, Salernitana 2
In an eventful final 30 minutes at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo, the visitors fought back from a goal down to secure a priceless 2-1 victory through Federico Bonazzoli and Andrea Schiavone goals as Ethan Ampadu saw red.
Schiavone’s winner came in the fifth minute of time added on to secure three points in dramatic fashion and get Stefano Colantuono his first win and the Granata’s second of the season as they bid to beat the drop.
Venezia’s American president Duncan Niederauer felt compelled to issue an official statement after the final whistle to question Ampadu’s dismissal.
“I never speak after matches, I always leave that burden to the players and the manager, but tonight is different. I felt the duty to do so,” he said. “What happened tonight is the same thing that happened last season at Salernitana, when the match was stolen by the referee’s decisions.
“I deeply respect the work of the referees, but I cannot help but wonder what happened in Salerno then and what happened tonight. The thing we ask is to review the images as we have seen them. They made us play without a man in a fundamental game for an unjust expulsion.
“The appeal that I am making is for Venezia to be treated like any other club in Serie A. There is VAR for cases like these, and this evening it has not been used properly. We play our game correctly, and I would like the rest of the people involved in the games to do their job correctly as well.
“The most important thing, however, and I want to emphasize this, is that I am proud of our boys and our manager, because once again they gave everything to win. We have to face a tough climb, which is now even more difficult, but the sure thing is we will fight as hard as we did until today, and even more, to be able to do it.”
Spezia 1, Genoa 1
Walter Mazzarri’s Cagliari now need an equally unexpected win if they are to climb back off the bottom with Genoa and Spezia nervously looking over their shoulders after they drew 1-1.
That is now seven without a win for Genoa and it needed a late Domenico Criscito penalty to salvage that draw after Salvatore Sirigu’s own goal had looked like it would gift former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Thiago Motta all three points.
With Spezia facing Fiorentina, Salernitana up against Napoli and Cagliari taking on Bologna, Venezia’s weekend trip to Genoa has the potential to be a relegation six-pointer.
As Cagliari and Salernitana have already changed coach this term, the chances are high that the next sacking could occur after this week if results continue to go against the likes of Genoa or Spezia in particular.
