Christian Pulisic continued his strong run of form with AC Milan as they extended their unbeaten run, while Weston McKennie and Tim Weah helped Juventus avoid an embarrassing let-down against Serie A’s cellar dweller.
Empoli 0 – 3 AC Milan
Christian Pulisic went the distance for AC Milan on Sunday, assisting on their third goal, and Yunus Musah saw his first action since mid-December, as the Rossoneri easily flew past Empoli for a road win.
Apart from setting up Milan’s third goal in the dying moments, Pulisic was efficient in his 90 minutes of play, completing all but two of his 38 passing attempts, forcing a save with his lone shot of the game, successfully completing two of his four attempted dribbles, and accurately firing off both of his long balls.
Musah, who has been out for several games due to illness, made his return to the field as a 70th-minute substitute as the visitors looked to lock down their two-goal lead at the time. He showed no signs of rust, only misplacing one of his 24 passing attempts, connecting on his only long-ball attempt, while committing no fouls.
The visitors needed only 11 minutes to take the lead, with Rafael Leao beating his mark to charge up the left flank, then cutting a short centering pass back to Ruben Loftus-Cheek just inside of the area. The former Chelsea wash-out, completely unmarked on his run, made easy work of his low, 17-yard shot to the right side of goal.
Empoli suffered another blow when right back Tyronne Ebuehi was forced out before the half-hour due to injury, then saw their fortunes quickly take another hit after Youssef Maleh clearly deflected Olivier Giroud’s attempted bicycle kick with his outstretched hand.
The Frenchman subsequently buried the ensuing spot kick with aplomb, targeting the upper left corner with a precise shot that grazed the upright on its way into goal, leaving keeper Elia Caprile no chance whatsoever to make the save.
Pulisic nearly headed his way onto the scoreboard just past the 61-minute mark, getting his forehead onto a perfect cross from Leao to the back post, however his shot was barely pushed over the crossbar by Caprile.
However, he still left his mark on the game with two minutes left, running three-quarters the length of the field following an Empoli corner, before sending late substitute Chaka Traorè into open space for a looping shot to the right side to secure the final 3-0 win.
The assist marked the third straight game in which Pulisic has had scored or set up to a goal for his team, and his 13th overall goal contribution in all competitions this season.
The win keeps Milan in third place, still a considerable distance behind leaders Inter and Juventus, but a comfortable six ahead of Fiorentina. They host Atalanta on Wednesday in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal before welcoming eighth-place Roma on Sunday.
Salernitana 1 – 2 Juventus
Juventus were made to work for their three points on their visit to last-place Salernitana on Sunday evening, with both Weston McKennie and Tim Weah earning starts in their late victory.
Three days after netting his first goal for Juventus in their 6-1 cup win over Salernitana, Weah was less directly impactful in the rematch, seeing his one attempt on goal near the half-hour mark blocked, although he did create a pair of chances for teammates before being subbed out with nine minutes left in regulation.
McKennie played from whistle to whistle, and was in the thick of the action with 75 touches, 47 completed passes in 55 attempts, one off-target header in the 49th minute that could have been more, and three chances created.
He did pick up a yellow card midway through the second half, his fifth of the season, meaning he will miss the team’s next league game.
Only three days after suffering a 6-1 drubbing by the same team on their home field, Salernitana’s Giulio Maggiore enacted a small measure of revenge when he emphatically struck Loum Tchaouna at 18 yards out, with the blast sailing past Wojciech Szczesny’s fingertips for the 1-0 lead.
However, his reckless motivation got the better of him after he picked up his second yellow card in the 53rd minute for knocking over Adrien Rabiot, leaving the hosts without their goalscorer and only ten men on the field.
Juve needed only 12 minutes to capitalize on their advantage, equalizing in the 65th when Dusan Vlahovic ended a nice attacking sequence in Salernitana’s area by sliding a short pass over to Samuel Iling-Junior on the left side, who absolutely spanked the ball with a sweeping eight-yard shot that rattled the underside of the net.
McKennie was shown yellow in the 69th minute for an unnecessary tactical foul to stop a Salernitana counter that had little chance of creating danger.
With the game winding down to the final moments and looking ever more likely to be a surprising draw, Vlahovic ensured the victory for the Bianconeri, rising high to head in a deep cross from Danilo, threading the needle between keeper Benoit Costil and the right upright.
With the victory, keep pace with first-place Inter, trailing the top spot by only two points. They host Frosinone on Thursday in Coppa Italia action, then five days later welcome Sassuolo to Turin.
With McKennie suspended for the latter of those two games, he could be selected as a starter against Frosinone after sitting out Juve’s prior cup game one week earlier.
