Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to earn AC Milan a 2-1 win over AS Roma on Saturday and send the Rossoneri seven points clear at the top of Serie A.
The title pressure is now firmly back on Juventus, who must beat Inter in Turin to keep pace with the champions.
Pablo Osvaldo had given Roma a first-half lead against the run of play, but Milan dominated throughout, twice hitting the woodwork, and finally their greater quality told.
Ibrahimovic now has 22 goals in 23 league games this season.
Milan suffered a blow in the 10th minute when centerback Thiago Silva asked to be taken off with a recurrence of a leg injury.
Despite the loss, Milan were in complete control, with Urby Emanuelson testing Maarten Stekelenburg before the goalkeeper also tipped over an Ibrahimovic free-kick.
Milan put together a slick move that resulted in the lively Stephan El Shaarawy shooting wide.
Most of the Rossoneri’s opportunities were just half-chances, but Roma were offering nothing in attack.
Milan came within a whisker of the lead when El Shaarawy worked space on the edge of the box and beat Stekelenburg with a fizzing shot that rapped the bottom of the post, with neither Antonio Nocerino nor Ibrahimovic able to turn in the loose ball.
And then, a minute from the break, Daniele de Rossi seized on a fluffed clearance from Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini to fire in a shot that Osvaldo alertly tapped home from 6m as Milan’s defenders failed to react.
Roma captain Francesco Totti should have done much better when presented with a glorious chance by a poor clearance from goalkeeper Christian Abbiati just after the restart, but he tried a chipped finish from outside the box that sailed over the bar.
They paid the price straight away as de Rossi blocked Ambrosini’s shot with his arm inside the box, allowing Ibrahimovic to stroke home a 53rd-minute penalty.
Stekelenburg then kept out an Ibrahimovic near-post shot with his foot as he dived the wrong way and got a finger-tip to a rasping Sulley Muntari volley to touch the ball onto the bar.
However, it was no surprise eight minutes from time when Ibrahimovic snatched the points, latching onto Kevin-Prince Boateng’s long ball forward, chipping Stekelenburg and then holding off Simon Kjaer, before nodding home the dropping ball.
Later, Udinese moved into the third and final Champions League berth when Gabriel Torje’s goal six minutes from time gave them a 1-1 draw at Palermo, for whom Fabrizio Miccoli opened the scoring.
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