Rafael Leao was likened to Thierry Henry by Milan head coach Stefano Pioli after firing his side to a slender victory against Sampdoria.

The Portugal international scored the only goal of the game eight minutes into Sunday's clash at San Siro to send Milan top of Serie A.

Leao controlled a pass from Mike Maignan – the first Milan keeper to assist a league goal since Dida in 2006 – powered past Bartosz Bereszynski and coolly converted.

He now has 10 goals for the season in all competitions, making him the Rossoneri's joint-leading goalscorer alongside Olivier Giroud.

That is already three goals more than Leao managed in 39 appearances last season, and four more than in his first season at San Siro in 2019-20.

Of those 10 goals this season, seven have been scored in Serie A and four of them have been the opening goal of the match.

Pioli has been pleased with Leao's development and is confident there is more to come from the 22-year-old striker.

"I believe he can always do better, he must not be satisfied," Pioli said at his post-match news conference. "He has the qualities to reach the top of Europe and the world.

"He reminds me of Henry, but it is true that Rafa must be himself. Leao is an extraordinary player, but he mustn't rest on his laurels."

Milan took full advantage of Inter's 1-1 draw with Napoli on Saturday to leapfrog both sides into top spot with their win over Sampdoria.

The Rossoneri are two points in front of Napoli and one better off than Inter, who have a game in hand to play.

Pioli's side have gained 55 points from their opening 25 matches – in the era of three points for a win, they have had so many only in 2003-04 (64).

But while his side occupy top spot in a tight battle for the Scudetto, Pioli insisted he is not yet thinking about ending Milan's 11-year wait for a league title.

"Our goal does not change," he said. "We printed last year's standings at the beginning of the season and our goal is to improve on the 79 points collected last season.

"We had a perfect week and I'm happy for the guys who really gave everything, playing with intensity and determination, which allowed us to achieve these results. 

"We also know that the championship is still long: let's concentrate as we have always done to better prepare for the next match to get the best out of it."

Milan may be flying high in Serie A and through to the Coppa Italia semi-finals, but not every player is in the good books of supporters.

Franck Kessie appeared to be targeted by the club's ultras on Sunday amid suggestions he is not planning to sign a new contract, with his current one set to expire in July.

A banner was unfurled at San Siro that read: "Those who love Milan show it with facts; cordial goodbyes to those who are dissatisfied."

Kessie was also booed by some supporters during the warm-ups, which Pioli was not pleased with.

"I heard it. I don't think it's the right thing because we need everyone. The past teaches us it is the attitudes and behaviours of the players that make the difference," he said. 

"When I train, I don't care if he has renewed or if it's about to expire. I know these players and I see them, I see how they behave. 

"As long as they have the right attitudes, I will put them on the pitch. The Milan fans have a great heart and a great passion and are giving us great support."

Rafael Leao's early goal proved the difference as Milan beat Sampdoria 1-0 at San Siro on Sunday to climb to the top of Serie A.

Saturday's 1-1 draw between Inter and Napoli provided Milan with the opportunity to leapfrog both sides and they did exactly that without ever being at their best against Samp.

Leao calmly converted inside eight minutes after being assisted by keeper Mike Maignan and that was enough for the hosts, who have now won three in a row in all competitions.

Milan are two points clear of third-place Napoli and one point better off than reigning champions Inter, who still have a game in hand to play.

Milan had collected just one point from their past two home matches but started brightly and took the lead early on through Leao's 10th goal of the campaign.

The Portugal international controlled a long pass from Maignan, drove away from Bartosz Bereszynski into the opposition box and coolly fired away from Wladimiro Falcone.

Falcone produced a fine one-handed save to keep out a powerful Junior Messias drive and the Milan midfielder flashed another attempt narrowly wide the other side of half-time.

Sampdoria had a brief moment on top but the big chances continued to fall Milan's way, with Olivier Giroud twice being denied by the visiting keeper from a volley and a header.

The visitors never truly looked like finding a leveller, though, with Stefano Pioli's side seeing out the job to climb to the summit.

What does it mean? Tight at the top

After following up a late 2-1 comeback win over Inter with a 4-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final victory against Lazio in midweek, this latest result caps a fine week for Milan.

The Rossoneri will end a gameweek top of Serie A for only the second time this season in what is by some distance the tightest title race in Europe's top five leagues.

As for relegation-threatened Sampdoria, this was their 67th Serie A defeat to Milan – only against Inter (70) have they lost more games in the competition.

Route-one Rossoneri

Leao profited from Maignan's quick thinking to release the ball early for Milan's early breakthrough goal.

Maignan is the eighth goalkeeper to assist a goal in Europe's top five leagues this term, and the first Milan shot-stopper to do so in Serie A since Dida against Ascoli in 2006.

Giroud awakening

Milan's in-form striker had scored braces in back-to-back matches heading into this contest but simply could not find a way past man-of-the-match Falcone.

Giroud had five shots in total with an expected goals (xG) return of 0.40 without finding the net, compared to one shot and one goal for Leao, who had an xG of 0.33.

What's next?

Milan travel to Serie A's bottom side Salernitana next Saturday, while Sampdoria host Empoli the same day.

The pursuit of 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland is well known.

Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have all been linked with Haaland.

The race is set to heat up, with Haaland reportedly holding a €75 million (£68m) release clause in his Dortmund contract which triggers at the end of the current season.

TOP STORY – MAN CITY LEAD THE WAY IN HAALAND RACE

Football Insider reports that Man City are in the box seat to sign Haaland in a major development with his father Alf-Inge Haaland's connection with the club.

Alf-Inge played with City from 2000 to 2003 and is telling Erling to join the club ahead of other suitors.

City's Abu Dhabi owners are set to launch a concerted pursuit for the Norwegian and will be able to meet his release clause.

Madrid 's bid to sign Haaland may be aided by Adidas, who are associated with the club and looking to bring him on board, after his deal with Nike expired at the end of January.

ROUND-UP

- ESPN reports that Lyon are preparing a significant offer for Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette, whose contract expires at the end of this season. Lacazette joined the Gunners from Lyon in 2017.

- El Nacional claims that Madrid are open to selling Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who is being targeted by PSG. Casemiro is a regular but his sale may open up funds for moves for Kylian Mbappe and Haaland.

- Franck Kessie will depart Milan when his contract expires at the end of this season, reports Calciomercato, with Barcelona entering the race to sign the midfielder, and Tottenham also interested.

- Sport claims that Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta already has an agreement in principle to join Barcelona on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.

- Edinson Cavani will exit Manchester United at the end of his contract in June, with Spain his preferred destination rather than returning to South America according to Fabrizio Romano.

Diego Simeone paid tribute to his Atletico Madrid players after overcoming numerous obstacles in their chaotic 4-3 LaLiga win over Getafe on Saturday.

The two teams played out an especially remarkable first half, which included six goals and a missed penalty by Luis Suarez.

Atletico were initially 2-0 up but then found themselves 3-2 down, with Borja Mayoral and a pair of Enes Unal penalties doing the damage.

Angel Correa got his second of the day just before the break to level the score, but Atletico received another blow when Felipe was sent off for a high and wild challenge on Mauro Arambarri.

The drama did not end there, however. Just when Atletico looked happy to play out for a draw, three substitutes linked up.

Rodrigo De Paul's deep free-kick was headed back across goal by Joao Felix, and Mario Hermoso was on hand to acrobatically turn in at the second time of asking.

Simeone struggled to make sense of the epic encounter but did praise Atletico's response.

"It's difficult to explain a match that had several mini-matches in it," he told reporters. "If you value how many times they've had a shot on goal, they are very few.

"There are times when adversity has to be overcome and once again those moments appeared: the missed penalty, going from 2-0 up to 3-2 down, and then the red card gave us a difficult match.

"Once again the hearts of the boys responded in an extraordinary way. Those who came on, De Paul, [Hector] Herrera, Joao... did so with a passion that was what we needed."

But while the dramatic nature of such a victory led to joyous scenes and took them back up to fourth, the match once again highlighted Atletico's defensive issues.

Two penalties were conceded for handball; Mayoral reacted quicker than the defence for his goal; and Felipe's red card came as a direct consequence of Stefan Savic's heavy touch just inside his own half.

It was the sixth successive game in which Atletico have conceded at least twice, while the three concessions took their overall LaLiga tally for 2021-22 to 33 – that surpassed their previous worst record for an entire season under Simeone (31 in 2012-13).

Yet Simeone did not seem overly concerned – at least not in the context of this match.

"The first goal is a good play for them, but the two subsequent penalties… there were no threatening plays. If you're looking for a save from Oblak, there wasn't any," he said.

"Hopefully we are already passing this situation of adversity."

Mario Hermoso was 10-man Atletico Madrid's hero as the defender scored a dramatic late winner in Saturday's chaotic 4-3 derby win over Getafe.

A manic match looked to be petering out until Hermoso – who attracted much criticism for his performance against Barcelona last week – showed Atletico's character despite being down to 10 men.

An astonishing first half saw Atletico charge into a 2-0 lead through Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha after Luis Suarez's early penalty miss, only for Getafe to turn the game on its head thanks to Borja Mayoral's poacher's effort and a pair of Enes Unal spot-kicks.

Correa made it 3-3 just before the interval, but the hosts suffered another blow in the second half as Felipe was shown a straight red for a wild challenge.

At that point a draw looked a reasonable result for Atletico, but substitute Hermoso popped up late on to spark bedlam at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Thomas Tuchel felt Chelsea were deserving Club World Cup winners and has challenged his "relentless" side to keep adding to their growing collection of titles in the remainder of the season.

Kai Havertz converted an extra-time penalty to secure a 2-1 win against Copa Libertadores holders Palmeiras, as Chelsea added success in FIFA's showpiece club tournament to the Champions League and Super Cup titles they lifted last year.

Tuchel, who missed his team's semi-final win over Al Hilal after testing positive for COVID-19 but was able to travel to the United Arab Emirates for the final, was full of praise for his charges after the contest.

While admitting Chelsea needed a little luck to avoid a shoot-out, the beaming former Paris Saint-German boss considered this a deserved victory.

"You need luck to score late on, but we were relentless, and we did not stop trying", Tuchel told Channel 4, having seen Romelu Lukaku's opener cancelled out by Raphael Veiga's spot-kick.

"We did not give in. We had the lead, then lost it, but never stopped. It was deserved, but it's also lucky when you score so late.

"The penalty [from Havertz] did not look nervous but for sure he was. 

"You cannot not be nervous in this situation. We trusted the statistics, and I'm happy for him."

Inter assistant Massimiliano Farris praised his team's mentality and fitness levels after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw at title rivals Napoli.

Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi served a touchline ban in Naples after both he and defender Alessandro Bastoni were shown red cards in the aftermath of the defending champions' 2-1 derby defeat to Milan last week.

Lorenzo Insigne's first-half penalty gave Napoli a deserved half-time lead and left Inter staring at consecutive defeats to their main Scudetto rivals, but Edin Dzeko's equalising goal ensured the visitors escaped Naples with a point.

And Farris was pleased with how they responded to going behind.

"The second-half performance says a great deal about the quality of this squad," he told DAZN in the aftermath of the stalemate.

"We had some regrets at half-time, but in the second half [we] showed a great reaction and mental strength in a fiery atmosphere. 

"We smothered Napoli’s enthusiasm and we could've won it at the end, but we're content with a point here."

Inter managed just three shots worth a mere 0.17 combined expected goals before the break, but an improved second half display ensured the Nerazzurri earned a valuable draw, and they have now won 17 points from losing positions in Serie A this season, more than any other team in the division.

Farris, who accompanied Inzaghi during his five-year stint as Lazio boss before joining him at San Siro, put Inter's ability to rescue points from difficult situations down to their fitness levels.

"Napoli changed tactics to a [back] five and that was a sign of them backing off, [but] we still had fuel in the tank, despite coming off the derby and a Coppa Italia match, whereas Napoli had all week to prepare for this game," he said.

"The team was controlling the situation well [in the second half]. It's all a positive sign."

Despite seeing their 440-minute stretch without conceding an away goal in Serie A come to an end, Inter maintained their one-point lead over Luciano Spalletti's Napoli at the Serie A summit with the draw, although cross-city rivals Milan could leapfrog the Nerazzurri by beating Sampdoria on Sunday.

Kai Havertz converted a penalty deep into extra time to clinch Club World Cup glory for Chelsea with a 2-1 win over Palmeiras.

The game appeared destined for a penalty shoot-out after a drab extra period, but the Blues got the opportunity to go in front again and they took it.

Romelu Lukaku initially put Chelsea ahead with an excellent header just before the hour, but Palmeiras levelled nine minutes later through a Raphael Veiga spot-kick.

Havertz then kept his cool from the spot in the 117th minute as Chelsea were crowned world champions for the first time.

Inter held on to top spot in Serie A after coming from behind to claim a 1-1 draw at second-placed Napoli on Saturday.

Lorenzo Insigne gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot after just seven minutes at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

But the reigning champions equalised inside a minute in the second half as Edin Dzeko fired in only his third league goal since October.

Although Napoli looked the more likely to find a winner, they missed the opportunity to displace their opponents at the summit.

Inter had kept a clean sheet in each of their previous four away games in Serie A, but they were breached early on when Insigne confidently swept home from 12 yards after the VAR ruled Stefan de Vrij had fouled Victor Osimhen.

Although forced into an early change as Matteo Politano limped off injured, Napoli continued to carry the greater threat going forward.

Piotr Zielinski hit the post from distance, while Osimhen and Insigne also went close to doubling the lead.

Aiming to avoid suffering back-to-back league defeats for the first time since March 2020 following last weekend's Derby della Madonnina reverse against Milan, Inter looked to respond with Dzeko heading straight at David Ospina from close range.

And there was no denying Inter's number nine just after the restart. He slammed in off the underside of the crossbar after an initial cross ricocheted kindly into his path.

Napoli went close to regaining the lead as Samir Handanovic produced smart reflexes to deny Osimhen and Eljif Elmas, but the sides could not be separated as the title race remains too close to call.

Joshua Kimmich slammed Bayern Munich's performance during their 4-2 defeat by Bochum, describing it as their "worst of the season".

The Bundesliga leaders came crashing back down to earth at Vonovia Ruhrstadion as they were beaten for only the second time in 32 meetings between the sides.

Bayern conceded four goals for the second time this season with Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Jurgen Locadia, Cristian Gamboa and Gerrit Holtmann all on target before half-time for the hosts.

Julian Nagelsmann's side were also thrashed 5-0 by Borussia Monchengladbach in the DFB-Pokal in October.

And Kimmich questioned the mentality of his team-mates in a scathing post-match reflection.

"That was our worst performance of the season throughout the game," he told Sky.

"We missed all the virtues. If something like this happens once in the season, then I say that it can happen.

"But this is not the first time this has happened to us this season.

"We have to be careful. We have to ask ourselves whether this is the mentality that FC Bayern embodies."

Nagelsmann also bemoaned a "sluggish" display from his players but took full responsibility for the defeat.

"Both in victory and defeat, you sit together in the boat; I also told the guys," the head coach added. 

"Of course, I also criticise myself if the idea didn't work out very well.

"Bochum pressed well, but we played very slowly and sluggishly. Normally, I have to change a bit earlier in the first half. After the change of sides, it was a bit better."

Gareth Bale was almost a returning hero for Real Madrid, going as close as anyone to finding a winner in the 0-0 draw at Villarreal on Saturday.

Making his first LaLiga appearance since August, Bale was initially a passenger, but he later drew three sharp saves from Geronimo Rulli, who kept the hosts in the game.

Madrid remain top of the table, but with Sevilla winning on Friday night it means the lead for Carlo Ancelotti's team has shrunk to four points.

The outcome was perhaps predictable from the first whistle: Madrid have now drawn their last five away LaLiga games against Villarreal. All the same, there was almost a stoppage-time twist, substitute Luka Jovic chipping against the bar.

It was the home side who went closest in the opening 20 minutes when Arnaut Danjuma's shot took a touch off Marcelo and bounced back off the left post.

Villarreal's Alberto Moreno found a yard of space on the edge of the Madrid box and his thumping shot demanded a good save from Thibaut Courtois.

Bale then had a sniff of a chance, sprinting onto a throughball from Casemiro and seeing his shot well saved by Rulli.

Marco Asensio whipped a powerful shot a yard too high early in the second half, before Bale hit the bar from just inside the penalty area, Rulli with enough of a touch to prevent the Wales forward finding the net.

Federico Valverde then stole the ball and played in Vinicius Junior, but Rulli spread his body well to keep out the Brazil winger's shot.

Bale again drew a save from Rulli, with the goalkeeper getting down to a flicked strike from the former Tottenham man, who lasted just over 70 minutes until Jovic replaced him.

Courtois had to be sharp to punch away a dangerous backpass from Marcelo, before Jovic nearly pinched the points, Nacho seeing the follow-up cleared off the line.

Bayern Munich were beaten by Bochum for the first time in 18 years after a crushing 4-2 defeat at Vonovia Ruhrstadion.

Despite a Robert Lewandowski brace, Julian Nagelsmann's side could not avert a surprise loss against their inspired opponents.

Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Jurgen Locadia, Cristian Gamboa and Gerrit Holtmann were all on target before half-time for the hosts, who had not netted four times in the Bundesliga since a 5-3 victory over Wolfsburg in November 2007.

Meanwhile, the leaders conceded four goals in the German top flight for the first time since a 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in November 2019.

Bayern had won each of their past eight away games against Bochum and took the lead after just nine minutes, Lewandowski scrambling the ball home after Kingsley Coman cushioned Thomas Muller's cross neatly into his path.

But the runaway leaders led for just five minutes as Antwi-Adjei beat Sven Ulreich after latching onto Holtmann's sweeping pass.

The hosts completed the turnaround from the penalty spot, with Locadia sweeping home after Dayet Upamecano was penalised for handball.

Two became three when Gamboa played a neat one-two with Patrick Osterhage and arrowed a terrific shot into the far corner, before Holtmann made it four with a wonderful curling effort from 20 yards.

The hosts thought they had increased their advantage after the break, but Antwi-Adjei was denied by the offside flag.

Lewandowski pulled one back with a neat volley 16 minutes from time, but Bochum maintained their composure and discipline to seal a memorable win.

Massimiliano Allegri insists there will be more important games to come for Juventus despite the apparent stakes when they visit Atalanta on Sunday.

Juve are unbeaten in Serie A since their previous meeting with Atalanta at the end of November and head to Bergamo in fourth, two points and one place ahead of their opponents.

After a difficult start to the season, the Bianconeri's Champions League qualification hopes are in their hands – although that may well depend on securing a positive result this weekend.

Even after playing Atalanta, however, Juve have 13 games remaining, meaning Allegri is keen to talk down the magnitude of the fixture.

"It's a direct clash for fourth place, it's important but not decisive," he told a news conference. "It's a good test, it will be difficult because Atalanta have shown in recent years that they have won a place to fight for the top four positions.

"They are a physical team, who will be very angry about their elimination in the Coppa Italia, and so the game requires great focus, physicality and technique to bring a good result home."

Pushed again on the significance of this result, Allegri replied: "No, because Atalanta have [played] one less game. Now we are close, it is not decisive for anyone tomorrow. It's important, beautiful to play, but not decisive."

Juve's 10-match unbeaten run in the top flight is their longest since 2020, while a sequence of three consecutive clean sheets is their best since 2018.

But Atalanta have previously proven themselves capable of checking Juve's momentum.

Gian Piero Gasperini has overseen back-to-back Serie A wins over Juve – already Atalanta's best run in the fixture – with Parma (between 2010 and 2011) the last team to beat the perennial champions in three straight.

And Allegri is not getting carried away heading into this match, saying: "In football you always need balance. We come from a good period of 12, 13 games. Now, we must not think, because we lose focus on what we need to do.

"We have reached a semi-final of the Coppa Italia, we have to fix the league season game by game, and the more we go on the more difficult it will be to win, because the points matter more for everyone.

"We have done nothing; it is normal for Juventus to win games. Tomorrow there is Atalanta and we have to try to take three points, and then Torino, then the Champions League and so on.

"So far we have not conquered anything, there is only to do right now, there is no chatting."

Al Ahly finished third at the Club World Cup after a chaotic play-off saw them win 4-0 against an Al Hilal side who had two players red-carded in the opening 28 minutes.

Egyptian giants Al Ahly were on easy street for much of the game, with Saudi rivals Al Hilal the architects of their own downfall.

Al Ahly took an eighth-minute lead when Yasser Ibrahim headed in from close range, and the first red followed six minutes later when Matheus Pereira went in dangerously on Amr El Soleya near the halfway line.

Another close-range header from Ibrahim put Al Ahly two goals to the good, after Mohamed Hany's fizzing 25-yard drive was parried by Mohammed Al Owais.

A laughably petulant off-the-ball kick by Mohamed Kanno on goalscorer Ibrahim resulted in a second red being brandished by referee Clement Turpin shortly before the half-hour mark, and it was 3-0 inside 40 minutes when Ahmed Radwan danced through the depleted and deflated opposition ranks to flick home from five yards.

El Soleya scored the goal of the game to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute, drilling a 28-yard strike into the bottom-left corner.

Xavi believes Sunday's Catalan derby with Espanyol will act as a "litmus test" to determine just how much Barcelona have improved.

Barca produced arguably their finest display yet since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman three months ago in last week's 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid.

That followed a 1-0 win over Granada, meaning the Blaugrana have won back-to-back LaLiga games for just the second time this season ahead of their trip to Espanyol.

However, not since a run of six between February and April last year have they won three games on the spin in the Spanish top flight.

Barcelona make the short trip to RCDE Stadium back in the top four and now full of confidence on the back of a successful January transfer window.

But Xavi insists his side have not fully turned a corner yet, with wins in successive away games against Espanyol and Valencia the target to keep their momentum going.

"Sunday's match is another final for us," he said at a pre-match news conference. "It's a litmus test and it will be a very difficult game, very intense. They will want revenge.

"We're not ruling out any targets. Being 15 points behind the leaders, with a match in hand, shows how difficult it can be. It is difficult but we do not rule anything out. 

"The next few games will tell. We need several wins in a row and have to be consistent, while hoping those in front of us falter. We're fourth and we want to climb further."

Memphis Depay's penalty early in the second half gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Espanyol in Xavi's first game in charge on November 20.

Barca have now gone 23 LaLiga games without defeat against their city rivals and could record the best unbeaten run by any team in any type of derby in the competition's history.

That is a record they jointly hold with Real Madrid, who also went 23 matches without losing against Atletico Madrid between 2000 and 2013.

The Blaugrana have also not lost any of their past 13 away games against Espanyol in LaLiga (W7 D6), including their 11 matches at RCDE Stadium.

But Xavi is taking nothing for granted against Espanyol, who are winless in four in the league and down in 13th place.

"Things have changed since the last meeting," he said. "Tomorrow we face a tough and intense rival. This is one of the best Espanyol sides in recent years.

"It will be a similar game to the one at Camp Nou, but we've changed since then. We didn't have time to prepare for that game, but now we have.

"We've got to consolidate the very good things we did against Atletico. We're training well but everything depends on the results. We are on the right track."