AC Milan, Juventus close in on Champions League qualification

AC Milan and Juventus both took a big step towards qualification for next season’s Champions League with respective victories over Verona and Bologna on Sunday.

Adrien Rabiot swept home the only goal in Milan’s 1-0 win at Verona, giving his team an eight-point cushion on Como and Roma in fifth and sixth, while Juve are three points behind the seven-time European champions in fourth after beating Bologna 2-0.

France midfielder Rabiot calmly netted his sixth league goal of the season after snatching possession in midfield and exchanging passes with Rafael Leao, for the only real highlight of a largely drab encounter.

“The important thing is winning and getting the points we need to achieve our objectives, but we made a lot of mistakes today. We could have played a lot better,” said Rabiot.

“We need to stay focussed on qualifying for the Champions League.”

Juve and Milan took advantage of Como falling to a surprise defeat at Sassuolo on Friday and Roma drawing with Atalanta on Saturday night, and with five matches remaining in the season both teams are in a great position to clinch a top-four finish.

Milan, in second, have had no continental football this season after a disastrous previous campaign which led to Massimiliano Allegri retaking the reins as coach last summer.

Allegri said on Friday he has already started planning for next season with Milan’s management, and after Saturday’s win the 58-year-old again ruled himself out of the vacant Italy job.

“No-one has contacted me (from the Italian Football Federation), and all my thoughts are on Milan: we’ve started something together and we’ll continue it together,” said Allegri.

Juve on the march

Verona’s fifth straight defeat means almost certain relegation, as Paolo Sammarco’s team are bottom of the division and 10 points behind Cremonese, who sit just outside the drop zone and drew 0-0 at Torino in the day’s early fixture.

Headers in each half from Jonathan David and Khephren Thuram were enough for for Juve to see off Bologna and inch closer towards the objective Luciano Spalletti was given when he was hired in October to replace the sacked Igor Tudor.

David’s glanced finish from Pierre Kalulu’s cross was his first club goal since the start of February and came moments after a pre-match tribute to former Juve goalkeeper Alexander Manninger who died on Thursday aged 48 after his car was hit by a train.

Manninger, who made 40 appearances for Juve between 2008 and 2012, was applauded by fans who then loudly chanted his name after Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini brought flowers onto the pitch in their former teammate’s honour.

Thuram doubled the hosts’ lead with his fourth goal of the season in the 57th minute from another perfectly delivered cross, this time from Weston McKennie.

“We’re on the right track. Every time we play I see something new from my players, all I can do is compliment them,” said Spalletti.

Bologna are now 10 points away from the European positions in eighth and did little to trouble Juve, although Jonathan Rowe should have halved the deficit shortly after Thuram;s goal when he smashed Nadir Zortea’s low cross onto the post from point-blank range.