European roundup: Milan top Serie A after Leão strike sinks Sampdoria

Milan climbed to the top of the Serie A table with a 1-0 win over Sampdoria on Sunday, as an eighth-minute strike from the in-form Rafael Leão proved decisive at San Siro.

The Portugal forward collected a long clearance from keeper Mike Maignan, skipped past his marker and found the bottom corner from a narrow angle to score his 10th goal of the season in all competitions.

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Samp goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone kept the deficit down to one with a string of fine stops, palming over a fierce Junior Messias strike on the stroke of half-time before blocking an acrobatic Olivier Giroud effort after the break. Falcone denied Giroud again from a header and also saved Ante Rebic’s shot, but the visitors could not threaten Maignan’s goal.

The result completed a superb week for Stefano Pioli’s side, in which they defeated Internazionale in the Milan derby and hammered Lazio 4-0 in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals. It was an unhappy return for the Samp coach and former Milan manager, Marco Giampaolo, whose side remained 16th and in relegation trouble.

“We can call it a perfect week because you can’t do better than this,” Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali told Dazn. “We are proud and satisfied but we won’t rest on our laurels because that would be stupid. We need to reset everything and continue along this path.”

Milan move ahead of Inter and Napoli, who drew 1-1 in Naples on Saturday. Inter are one point behind with a game in hand with Napoli two points back in third place. Atalanta, currently in fifth, host fourth-placed Juventus later on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Alavés revived their bid for La Liga survival with a 2-1 home win over mid-table Valencia, who are now winless