AC Milan took the Serie A lead with a 3-0 win over ailing Venezia on Sunday as defender Theo Hernandez scored two goals in the second half to secure his side’s third straight league win.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored after two minutes, making it the 80th team the Swede has scored against in the five best European leagues, a record only Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved since 2000. Hernandez scored early in the second half before Venice defender Michael Svoboda was sent off for parrying a shot on goal with his arm, giving Milan’s substitute captain a chance to score the resulting penalty.
Milan, who have not won the Serie A title since 2010/11, are provisionally in first place with 48 points, two ahead of Inter Milan. However, the reigning champions have two games ahead of them, including a duel with Lazio later on Sunday.
“This has to be the year we prove ourselves. We have to show that we are competitive again, ”said Milan coach Stefano Pioli to Sky Italia. “We’ll see if we can take the last step to be the winner. It wasn’t an easy game. We did well to make it look simple. It was a team win. “
Venezia’s winless league round now has seven games and is in 16th place with 17 points, four ahead of the relegation zone. Pioli, who made his 400th game as Serie A coach, had an absentee list of 11 players faced due to injuries and players playing for the Africa Cup of Nations.
But his team immediately took control when Rafael picked Leao Ibrahimovic for the easiest finish. Three minutes into the break, the lively Portuguese winger rallied his second assist, sending Hernandez a pass down the left wing to chase after him and bring him home from an acute angle.
Any chance of retaliation in Venezia collapsed an hour ago when Hernandez hit Svoboda’s arm at close range. The Austrian received a red card and Hernandez calmly hit the resulting penalty in the top corner.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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