Milan end dismal run by thrashing Cagliari in Serie A
Having failed to claim a win in the past six outings, the Rossoneri were looking for a resounding response and they went ahead in the 35th minute with Ismael Bennacer's strike in chaos.
Christian Pulisic (IANS)
ROME: AC Milan eventually registered a comfortable win in Serie A as they tore Cagliari apart 5-1 with Christian Pulisic's double.
Having failed to claim a win in the past six outings, the Rossoneri were looking for a resounding response and they went ahead in the 35th minute with Ismael Bennacer's strike in chaos.
The home side doubled the lead in the 59th minute when substitute Rafael Leao's sensational pass inspired Pulisic to finish with a solo run, reports Xinhua.
Despite Nahitan Nandez's cushion for Cagliari in the 63rd minute, Milan restored the lead in the 74th minute in a spectacular fashion when Tijjani Reijnders unleashed a rocket out of the box that flew into the corner.
Leao also managed on target minutes later when the Portuguese ran onto Bennacer's through pass and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one, before Pulisic rounded out the scoreline.
With the win, AC Milan remain in second place with 74 points, 18 points adrift of Inter Milan.
Defending champion Napoli were dealt another blow as they conceded two goals within the opening 15 minutes and fell to Bologna 2-0 on home turf, while Napoli player Matteo Politano saw his penalty parried away.
High-flying Bologna now temporarily climbed to third place, one point ahead of Juventus who host Salernitana on Sunday, while eighth-placed Napoli's Europe-stage hope became slimmer.