AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti refused to press the panic button after his team's miserable home league form continued on Saturday as the European champions were held to a 0-0 draw at the San Siro by Juventus.
Milan failed to win for the seventh home Serie A match in a row, earning five draws, two defeats, five points and a pitiful three goals in that period.
It is a situation that has become desperate, particularly with bitter city rivals Inter Milan romping clear, unbeaten at the top of the table.
Ancelotti preferred to praise his opponents rather than dwell on his own team's failings.
"They are aggressive, compact, the tightest defense in Italy, they don't concede much," he said of Juve on Sky Sport television.
For Juve, though, it was once again a non-conclusive result against a title rival, following previous draws against Fiorentina, Inter and Roma.
David Trezeguet had the first clear chance of the match for the visitors on 12 minutes but his fierce shot from an angle beat AC Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, only to crash against the upright and away to safety.
Things began to hot up after the break and Dida parried a long-range effort from midfielder Hassan Salihamidzich three minutes after the interval with full-back Massimo Oddo blocking Pavel Nedved's follow-up.
Milan had the ball in the net on 50 minutes but Alberto Gilardino was offside when he mopped up the rebound from Brazilian playmaker Kaka's rasping effort.
Just passed the hour mark and the visitors should have gone in front but forwards Vincenzo Iaquinta, at the front post, and Trezeguet and the backstick, failed to gamble on full-back Christian Molinaro's wicked ball across the six-yard box.
Milan substitute Filippo Inzaghi sprung the Juve offside trap 20 minutes from time but he rushed his shot from the edge of the area and blasted the ball straight at Gianluigi Buffon when a little composure was needed to break the deadlock.
Juve moved clear of Roma and Udinese in second place on 26 points, two behind Inter, while Milan moved up to seventh on 18 points.
In the day's early game, Sampdoria jumped up to sixth after beating Reggina 3-0 at home.
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that