AC Milan 1 Roma 4: Dzeko's double keeps Serie A title race alive + Highlight

Edin Dzeko scored two first-half goals as Roma
earned a 4-1 win over 10-man AC Milan, a result
that moves them to within seven points of league
leaders Juventus and keeps the Serie A title race
alive.
Juve travel to Stadio Olimpico next weekend,
giving Roma the chance to close the gap further
and Luciano Spalletti's side will be in confident
mood after a consummate performance at San Siro.
Dzeko took his goal tally for the season to 27
inside the first half hour of the game, first linking
up with Mohamed Salah to open the scoring after
eight minutes and then heading a Leandro Paredes
corner home 20 minutes later.
Mario Pasalic pulled one back for Milan with 15
minutes left but former Rossoneri forward Stephan
El Shaarawy quickly responded with Roma's third.
Gabriel Paletta was sent off for bringing down
Salah in the box and Daniele De Rossi's penalty
clinched a result that is crucial to Roma's chances
of finishing in Serie A's top two, ahead of Napoli.
Their supporters would have settled for nothing
less than a win after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to
local rivals Lazio a week earlier.
Milan remain sixth after the defeat, having missed
the chance to put themselves six points clear of
seventh-placed Inter, who lost 1-0 at Genoa earlier
in the day.
Wasting no time as they sought to make amends
for defeat in the derby, Roma took the lead in the
eighth minute when Salah played a neat one-two
with Dzeko and then returned the ball to the
Bosnian striker, who hit the top corner of the net
with a right-footed blast.
Salah rifled a shot over the crossbar four minutes
later and Gianluigi Donnarumma made a fingertip
save to push Diego Perotti's shot onto the post
after 16 minutes, and at the other end Wojciech
Szczesny made a diving save to keep out Sosa's
30-yard drive.
While Milan were disjointed, Roma played fluid,
positive football and it was little surprise when
Dzeko made it 2-0, out-leaping Gianluca Lapadula
at the near post to head Paredes' corner into the
far corner of the net.
Donnarumma made a brilliant save to keep Milan
in the game nine minutes before half-time, diving
down to his left to push Radja Nainggolan's drive
onto the post before Salah wastefully snatched at
the rebound and sent the ball into the stands.
Milan improved after the break and Lapadula
headed just over the crossbar seven minutes into
the second half, before the home side's frustrations
spilled over when substitute Andrea Bertolacci
clashed with Roma's Kostas Manolas, earning both
players a yellow card.
The hosts seemed to be running out of steam in the
last half hour but Vincenzo Montella sent on Lucas
Ocampos and his corner in the 76th minute
bounced all the way through the box before Pasalic
diverted it into the net with a diving header.
Moments later El-Shaarawy collected Dzeko's
header on the edge of the box and side-footed the
ball high into the net, past Donnarumma to make it
3-1 and end Milan's attempted comeback.
Roma rubbed salt in Milan's wounds with five
minutes left when Salah danced into the box and
was hauled down by Paletta, who was shown a
straight red card.
De Rossi slammed the resulting penalty into the
net despite Donnarumma getting a hand to it,
wrapping up the win with his second spot-kick in

as many games.