AC Milan ended the year with a much-needed win as they edged past Sassuolo 1-0 at San Siro.
Christian Pulisic scored the only goal in the second half to keep Milan just about in touch with Serie A’s top two.
The Rossoneri went into the contest having picked up only one victory from their previous three league matches, leaving them 12 points behind city rivals and table toppers Inter.
Sassuolo are the only team to have beaten Inter in the league this season but they have been in poor form, having won just one of their previous 11 matches and none of the last four.
Milan had Luka Jovic available after he picked up an ankle injury against Salernitana last time out, and the Serbian was named among the substitutes.
The hosts had the ball in the back of the net after only six minutes when Ismael Bennacer slotted it in but an obvious offside in the build-up meant it was quickly chalked off.
Tijjani Reijnders was the next to threaten with a shot well wide, while Bennacer did well to create a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box but sent his effort just past the near post.
Milan thought they had found the breakthrough 31 minutes in when Rafael Leao drilled the ball into the top corner but he was again denied by an offside flag having mistimed his run.
Sassuolo looked lively on the break and two minutes later Domenico Berardi forced Mike Maignan into the first real save of the match with a long-range effort that was tipped over the bar.
The visitors have leaked goals too readily this season but they would have been happy with their first-half display, and Milan were limited to brief glimpses in the early stages of the second half as well.
However, with 59 minutes gone, Pulisic tucked away the opener, the American timing his run perfectly to meet Bennacer’s pass into the box.
Ruan Tressoldi desperately tried to intercept but could not divert the ball away from Pulisic, and he beat Andrea Consigli in the Sassuolo net.
Armand Lauriente tried to get the visitors back on level terms but he was stretching as he hit his shot from the edge of the box and it was easily stopped by Maignan.
Milan boss Stefano Pioli sent on 18-year-old Kevin Zeroli for his senior debut, and they almost grabbed a second in the 78th minute but Alessandro Florenzi’s well-struck volley dipped just over the bar.
Substitute Samuel Chukweze had the final chance but his search for a first Serie A goal goes on after shooting narrowly wide of the far post.
Las Palmas 0-2 Girona: Michel's men close in on Champions League dream
It was a tale of three penalties as Girona went second in LaLiga with a 2-0 win over Las Palmas on Saturday, edging closer to a Champions League place for next season.
Artem Dovbyk made sure of the win from the spot in the second half, after David Lopez had put them in front in the 26th minute.
Lopez was on hand to blast into the roof of the net after Alvaro Valles saved Dovbyk's first penalty of the game, conceded by Las Palmas captain Kirian Rodriguez.
Las Palmas had earlier squandered a spot-kick of their own, with Paulo Gazzaniga springing to his right to push Sandro Ramirez's strike away.
Girona now possess a 13-point buffer to fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who have just 18 points to play for, so it appears a mere matter of time before Michel's side secure Champions League qualification.
Data Debrief: Dovbyk in fine company
Dovbyk wasn't deterred after seeing his first-half penalty saved, his second attempt from 12 yards finding the bottom-right corner to make the points safe for Girona.
He has now scored 19 goals in just 31 appearances in LaLiga. Only four players have previously reached that figure in fewer outings in the competition – Cristiano Ronaldo (23), Radamel Falcao (24), Robert Lewandowski (28) and Julio Baptista (29).
Derby seal Championship return with Carlisle win as Cheltenham drop to League Two
Derby County sealed a Championship return by beating already-relegated Carlisle United 2-0 at Pride Park on the final day of the League One season.
Derby knew a single point would end their two-year stay in the third tier of English football, with Bolton Wanderers waiting to pounce if the Rams did suffer a shock defeat.
However, such a slip-up never looked likely as Max Bird's powerful strike from outside the area put them ahead within five minutes, and James Collins added a close-range second on the hour mark to make certain of promotion.
Paul Warne's team finished five points behind Portsmouth, who clinched the title earlier this month, and five clear of Bolton – who needed a late equaliser from Cameron Jerome to draw 3-3 with Peterborough.
Bolton will face Barnsley in the play-offs as the Tykes were not punished for their 1-1 draw with Northampton Town, defeats for Blackpool and Lincoln City denying them the chance to gatecrash the top six.
Fourth-placed Peterborough will face Oxford United in the other play-off semi-final, as the U's clinched a 2-1 win over Exeter City to claim fifth place in the final reckoning.
Three of the four relegation places had already been decided before Saturday's matches, with Carlisle, Port Vale, and Fleetwood Town on their way to League Two.
Cheltenham will join them after Nick Freeman struck a 90th-minute winner in their 2-1 loss at Stevenage. Darrell Clarke's side needed a win to save themselves and send Burton Albion down in their place, but they were hit with a late sucker punch as their three-year stay in League One came to an end.
Arteta wants to prove supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for derby test
Mikel Arteta is looking to prove the Opta supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for perhaps the biggest test of their Premier League title credentials, in Sunday's North London derby at Tottenham.
Arsenal began the weekend one point clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, though Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand and have been in ominous form lately, winning their last four league matches.
Five wins for City will ensure they retain their crown, and according to the Opta supercomputer, the champions started the weekend with a 71.7% chance of topping the pile, compared to 26.6% for Arsenal and just 1.7% for Liverpool.
Arteta hopes to see Arsenal's figure boosted by a derby win, saying: "I don't know what to say, hopefully we can trick that computer and make it a bit higher!
"Maybe it needs to update the software, we need to help it or give it more tools. Hopefully we can change that!
"We are there. We have to look at ourselves and try to perform in the best possible way to win our matches and I can't wait to see what happens.
"We had a big win in the last London derby against Chelsea and now we have another big one. I'm sure if we're going to win the league, we're going to have to beat Spurs as well."
Tottenham, meanwhile, need points if they are to overhaul Aston Villa in the battle for Champions League qualification, with fifth place now extremely unlikely to be enough.
Ange Postecoglou, though, is more interested in seeing how Spurs measure up to a side they hope to challenge in the future.
"We understand the importance of the game but ultimately, it's still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis," Postecoglou said.
"It's a great opportunity to do that on Sunday."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham – Son Heung-min
Son scored twice for Spurs in the reverse fixture against Arsenal in September – a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. In all competitions, only five players have scored more goals in the fixture's history than Son's seven.
The only player to score multiple goals in both north London derby matches in a league season was Arsenal's Ted Drake, who did so back in 1934-35.
Arsenal – Martin Odegaard
Odegaard has been involved in six goals in his last six away appearances in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting three.
The Gunners captain was in mesmerising form in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Chelsea, leading all players on the pitch for assists (two), chances created (eight), passes into the final third (34) and duels won (eight). A repeat performance would be huge for the visitors' title hopes.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Tottenham have won just one of their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (one draw, four defeats), with their four losses in this span as many as they had suffered in their previous 16 against the Gunners (six wins, six draws).
They also lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season, meaning the Gunners could win on back-to-back league trips to Tottenham for the first time since enjoying a run of three victories there between 1987 and 1988.
Arteta's men know there is no margin for error with the title race in City's hands.
Even a draw could prove fatal to their hopes – at the end of the 2015-16 season, the North London derby was the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 20 of 48 meetings finishing level (42 per cent). Since then, only four matches between these rivals have seen the points shared (27 per cent).
Arsenal have kept six straight clean sheets on their travels in the Premier League, with only two teams ever keeping seven in a row – Chelsea from September to December 2008 and Manchester United from November to February in 2008-09. The Gunners should have enough to grind out a huge win.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Tottenham – 31%
Arsenal – 41.3%
Draw – 27.7%
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