Milan extended their lead at the top of Serie A to five points after Pierre Kalulu’s first-half strike earned a 1-0 home win over Empoli on Saturday.
With second-placed champions Internazionale not in action until Sunday, AC Milan raced into a 19th minute lead thanks to French defender Kalulu’s arrowing strike into the bottom corner.
The hosts appeared nervy in the second period and struggled to create many more clear-cut openings as they looked to put the game to bed, with goalkeeper Mike Maignan forced into a fine save to preserve his side’s lead.
Juventus eased to a 3-1 victory at Sampdoria, sending a warning to their Serie A rivals. Maya Yoshida’s own goal opened the scoring before Omar Colley brought down Moise Kean in the penalty area, allowing Álvaro Morata to put Juve 2-0 up from the spot.
The hosts rallied in the second half, though, and were awarded a penalty after a VAR review on Adrien Rabiot’s handball – but Wojciech Szczesny produced a fine save to deny Antonio Candreva. Samp did pull a late goal back through Abdelhamid Sabiri, but Morata fired home at the far post to secure victory for Max Allegri’s side, who are now unbeaten in 15 Serie A games.
Earlier on Saturday, bottom club Salernitana picked up a point against 10-man Sassuolo thanks to Milan Djuric’s late leveller, and Spezia arrested their slide down the table with a 2-0 home win over relegation rivals Cagliari.
As always, sport betting Tanzania gives you the best odds for all Serie A matches.