Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao played crucial roles as Milan comfortably beat 10-man Venezia 3-0 on Sunday to return to the summit of Serie A.
Stefano Pioli's men never looked in danger of dropping points at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo and were good value for a third straight Serie A victory.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – teed up by Leao – got the ball rolling inside two minutes as he equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring against 80 different teams in Europe's top five leagues this century.
Leao released Hernandez to make it 2-0 early in the second half, with the French defender wrapping the win up soon after with a penalty – which resulted in Michael Svoboda's dismissal – for his third goal of the season against Venezia.
Milan swiftly took charge as the lively Leao raced into the left side of the box and played the ball right across the face of goal for Ibrahimovic to tap in.
Further chances arrived for Milan, with Leao, Hernandez and Alessandro Florenzi forcing Sergio Romero into saves, though there was little the Venezia goalkeeper could do when it came to the visitors scoring their second.
Leao was involved again, feeding Hernandez's run in behind the defence and the left-back smashed past the helpless Romero.
Hernandez put the game beyond Venezia just before the hour, expertly picking out the top-right corner from 12 yards after Michael Svoboda handled – seemingly accidentally – on the line, earning himself a red card.
It sealed a routine win for Milan, with Pioli marking his 400th Serie A match as a coach in style. He is the eighth manager to reach the milestone in the competition.
What does it mean? Milan keep pressure on Inter
This was very much a case of Milan getting the job done with minimal fuss – they were very comfortable throughout and impressed despite being without numerous important players.
As such, they open up a two-point lead at the top of the table. Of course, Inter – who face Lazio later on Sunday – have two games in hand, but there is no denying Milan's position is a nice one to be in.
There is no guarantee Inter will win their two bonus games. Even if they do, a four-point deficit is by no means impossible to claw back.
Hernandez leads from the back
Several Milan players impressed but Hernandez was the standout. He got forward so often from left-back that his five shots ended up being more than anyone else – similarly, his expected goals (1.86), shots on target and big chances (both three) were highs for the match, while only Leao (seven) and Ibrahimovic (six) had more than Hernandez's four touches in the box.
Add to that his two key passes (bettered by just Leao), and it shows him in a very good light indeed.
A difficult day for Svoboda
It was a strange game for Svoboda. One moment he would show great composure, cleverly spinning away from Ibrahimovic, but then the next he would do something clumsy.
While the red card may have been slightly harsh, as the ball seemed to hit his thigh first, it was his error – passing the ball to Ibrahimovic on the edge of the box – that led to the situation anyway.
What's next?
Milan are in Coppa Italia action on Wednesday as they host Genoa, before then welcoming Spezia to San Siro in Serie A four days later. Venezia continue their fight against relegation in a week's time at home to Empoli after visiting Atalanta in the cup in midweek.
T&T blanked 4-0 by Honduras as Nicaragua edge French Guiana in League A
Trinidad and Tobago started life without Angus Eve on a losing note as they were thumped 4-0 by Honduras in their opening Concacaf Nations League Group B League A contest in Tegucigalpa on Friday.
The result dealt and early blow to the Soca Warriors and interim head coach Derek King, as they are the group’s early cellar dwellers.
Honduras, with the win, assume pole position on three points, same as Nicaragua, who edged French Guiana 1-0, while Jamaica and Cuba both have a point from their goalless stalemate. Only the top two teams from the group will progress to the quarterfinals, while the bottom-placed team will be relegated to League B.
The tournament also determines which national teams qualify for the next edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Honduras vs. Trinidad and Tobago
After struggling to break down Trinidad and Tobago’s defence early, Honduras eventually found the go-ahead goal when Alexander Lopez drove in a right-footer from outside the box.
Kevin Arriaga also showed his class with a well-struck right-footer in the 45+2 minute to put Honduras 2-0 up at the break.
Try as they did, Trinidad and Tobago had no response to Honduras in a hostile environment and soon found themselves further behind in the 54th minute. This, as Edwin Rodriguez was allowed too much space deep inside the 18-yard box to fire home from Luis Palma’s pass.
The win was then capped by David Ruiz, who slotted home in the 86th minute.
French Guiana vs. Nicaragua
The Central Americans extended their unbeaten run in the Concacaf Nations League to 13 matches by taking three points off host French Guiana at Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama.
Both teams gave as good as they got in the attacking third, but it was Nicaragua that got the all-important strike through Widman Talavera in the 90+5 minute to secure the three points.
Group B action will resume on Tuesday, starting with Cuba facing Nicaragua, while Trinidad and Tobago will host French Guiana, and Jamaica will visit Honduras to close out the day.
De Bruyne ready to take centre-stage on Man City return
Kevin De Bruyne is confident he will be fit and firing upon his return to Manchester City after starring in Belgium's opening fixture of their Nations League campaign.
De Bruyne scored twice in the Red Devils' 3-1 win over Israel on Friday, taking his international tally to 30 goals in 106 appearances since his debut in 2010.
He contributed an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.64 to Belgium's total of 3.53, also playing more passes in the final third (34) than any other player on the pitch.
Domenico Tedesco's side travel to Lyon on Monday to face France, who were beaten 3-1 by Italy in their opening fixture in Group A2, with De Bruyne in line to start again.
The 33-year-old has started the season with a goal and an assist in three Premier League appearances, both coming during City's 4-1 win against Ipswich Town.
De Bruyne has also created 11 chances so far in English football's top flight, a total only bettered by Dwight McNeil (13) and Andreas Pereira (14).
But when questioned whether City manager Pep Guardiola would be happy with him playing back-to-back 90 minutes, De Bruyne said: "You'll have to ask him!
"Well, as long as I feel good, it's okay and it's up to the coach to decide. After France, I have six days before the next match with City."
Belgium will be looking to avenge their Euro 2024 defeat to Didier Deschamps' side, having been knocked out at the last-16 stage by Jan Vertonghen's late own goal.
After the Red Devils' meeting with France, they will face Italy and Les Bleus again next month, concluding their group campaign against the Azzurri and Israel in November.
"When you play six group games, every game is important," De Bruyne added. "We only have two days to rest and get ready. But the pressure will be on them now."
Despite their victory over Israel on Friday, head coach Tedesco was left wanting more from his players ahead of their stern test against France.
"We started well and scored straight away, but after the goal we lost some of our self-confidence", said Tedesco.
"Fortunately, we were sharper after the break, showed courage with vertical football and high pressure, in order to create quite a few chances again. That is a positive sign."
Spalletti sees new intensity in Italy's play as France stunned
Luciano Spalletti said Italy had shown a new level of intensity in their Nations League opener after they stunned France with a 3-1 comeback win at the Parc des Princes.
Italy found themselves a goal down inside 12 seconds on Friday as Bradley Barcola dispossessed Giovanni Di Lorenzo before finishing coolly, but Federico Dimarco's brilliant volleyed equaliser precipitated a stirring fightback.
Davide Frattesi put the Azzurri ahead early in the second half, then Giacomo Raspadori completed the scoring as Italy claimed their first-ever win at the Parc des Princes.
The Azzurri had previously drawn three and lost one of their four matches at the venue, only scoring two goals, while they had not beaten France since doing so in the group stage at Euro 2008.
Italy endured a dismal Euro 2024 campaign, scraping through their group before being dumped out by Switzerland in the last 16, but Spalletti saw a different side to his players on Friday.
"I saw an intensity during training that we didn't have last time," Spalletti said. "Perhaps the players' physical shape had a role.
"The season has just started, and there is new enthusiasm. The other time, it was the end [of the season], and there had been things that perhaps led some to switch off.
"They bounced back tonight. Regardless of how this game went, we would have continued playing forever.
"It's in the DNA of this group I've chosen for the Nations League and the World Cup qualifiers.
"Three, four or five players have stayed home this time, but generally we are convinced that this group can give us so much."
Italy's victory was marred somewhat by Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori being injured by a crunching tackle by Ousmane Dembele, with the former Bologna man writing in pain before being helped from the field.
Spalletti, however, is hopeful the injury may not prove to be a serious one.
"We need to assess Riccardo, but with our staff, we have a good chance to have him back with us for the next game," Spalletti said.
Italy face Israel in their next match in Group A2 on Monday, with France hosting Belgium in another heavyweight tussle on the same day.
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