Lazio cruise past AC Milan to keep top four dream alive

Lazio revived their hopes of Champions League qualification and subjected AC Milan to a second consecutive Serie A defeat as Joaquin Correa scored twice in a 3-0 win for the Roman club at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday.

Milan are in fifth place, level on 66 points with Napoli and Juventus and two points behind Atalanta, while Lazio are five points behind with a game in hand. The Argentine international struck the opener after 77 seconds before beating his marker to fire home a superb second after the break. Ciro Immobile fired in a third for Lazio late on, as the sixth-placed side earned a 10th consecutive home win that takes them up to 61 points. “Now we need to show that we are strong, like I believe we are,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli told Sky Italia. “We must react straight away, because this is a heavy defeat.” The stakes were high for both teams ahead of kickoff, with Lazio needing a win to keep their top four hopes alive and Milan looking to avoid another setback after losing 2-1 to Sassuolo last week. Correa put Lazio in front after 77 seconds when he exchanged passes with Immobile before calmly rounding the goalkeeper to tap in.

Manuel Lazzari fired home Lazio's second on the brink of halftime, but the goal was disallowed by VAR as the wing-back was narrowly offside. The hosts doubled their lead six minutes into the second half when Correa dribbled past Fikayo Tomori and shot into the roof of the net. Referee Daniele Orsato consulted VAR for a potential foul in the build-up, but allowed the goal to stand. Correa was close to a hat-trick when his fierce angled drive was tipped wide by the diving Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Immobile was inches away from a goal when his lob came back off the post. The Italy striker eventually found the net when he fired into the corner with three minutes remaining, but Franck Kessie almost grabbed a Milan consolation when his glancing header came back off the bar.

Elsewhere, goals from Tiémoué Bakayoko and Victor Osimhen helped Napoli edge above Milan and Juve on goal difference with a win at Torino. Midfielder Bakayoko opened the scoring with a swerving shot from the edge of the area, with Osimhen getting the visitors’ second in the 13th minute, via a fortunate deflection. Piotr Zielinski and Lorenzo Insigne both hit the post for Gennaro Gattuso’s side either side of the break, before Torino midfielder Rolando Mandragora picked up a second yellow card late on. Torino stay level with Cagliari and Benevento on the edge of the drop zone, but have a game in hand. Napoli, Juventus and Milan all have 66 points, two behind second-placed Atalanta. Leaders Inter are 11 points clear and heading for their first title since 2010, while sixth-placed Lazio have a game in hand and are now five points off Milan.