Serie A: Olivier Giroud winner downs Torino as AC Milan lead title race

An Olivier Giroud winner sealed a gritty 1-0 victory over Torino for AC Milan, who moved three points clear at the top of Serie A on Tuesday.

Giroud scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute to help Milan move clear of second-place Napoli, who host Bologna on Thursday.

At the weekend, Milan were the only team in the top six in Serie A to register a win. Against Bologna, who were down to nine men, Milan only narrowly avoided embarrassment to win 4-2 with two late goals.

However, tonight, matters seemed to have improved when Milan took the early lead after Rade Krunic nodded on a corner for Giroud to tap in from a couple of yards. It was the 35-year-old’s fourth goal in his sixth league appearance for Milan.

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However, the Rossoneri barely had another sight of a goal in a dull game. Although Torino kept getting closer they lacked the quality in the final third. The Turin side’s best chance came in the 76th minute as Antonio Sanabria ran onto a through ball but Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu managed to parry his effort and Fikayo Tomori cleared the loose ball off the line.

The visitors almost scored a last-gasp equalizer. Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić had came up for a free-kick and stayed in the area for the ensuing corner. He managed to flick it on toward Sanabria but the forward couldn’t adjust his body to get a proper shot in and Milan cleared the danger, much to the relief of coach Stefano Pioli who celebrated as if his side had scored a goal.

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Following the victory, Giroud said, “We take the three points, that’s the most important.”

“We play every three days and it’s very difficult for the body. Everything was not perfect, but we are very pleased with the win tonight. Torino is a tough team to play against.”

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The Rossoneri are dealing with an injury crisis, although defender Theo Hernández was fit for a place on the bench after recovering from the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Pioli will be hoping to have more of his first-choice players back heading into a difficult week in which Milan plays title rivals Roma and Inter Milan, either side of a match against Porto in the Champions League, where it is bottom of its group with zero points.

With inputs from the Associated Press