Leão and Maignan decisive for AC Milan in win over Roma; Pioli at risk with winless Fiorentina

ROME (AP) — Rafael Leão hasn’t displayed this kind of form with regularity since he was Serie A ’s MVP four seasons ago and led AC Milan to the league title.

Mike Maignan also emphasized his importance to the Rossoneri on Sunday.

A burst of speed from Leão led to the only goal and Maignan preserved the advantage by saving a penalty kick from Paulo Dybala late in the second half of a 1-0 victory over Roma.

Shortly before the break, Leão accelerated from the left flank on a counterattack and pulled back for Strahinja Pavlovic to knock in.

Leão also created several more chances at the San Siro, with a one-handed save from Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar denying him in the second half.

There was also a goal-line clearance from Roma defender Mario Hermoso to deny Leão.

Maignan then denied Dybala by lunging to his left to push the Roma playmaker’s effort away. Making matters worse for Roma was that Dybala appeared to injure himself while taking the penalty and had to exit the match for the final minutes. He had converted all 18 of his previous penalties with Roma.

Leão missed the opening month of the season because of a calf injury but has returned to form while the Rossoneri are without Christian Pulisic, who is now out with an injured right hamstring. Leão also scored twice in a win over Fiorentina last month and now has three goals and an assist in his last four matches.

Milan moved level with Roma and Inter Milan, one point behind Serie A leader Napoli.

Before kickoff, a moment of silence was observed in memory of former coach Giovanni Galeone, who was a mentor to both Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri and Roma’s Gian Piero Gasperini.

Galeone died Sunday at 84.

Fiorentina crisis

Fiorentina’s crisis deepened with a 1-0 loss at home to Lecce on Sunday that left the Viola winless through 10 rounds and put coach Stefano Pioli’s job at serious risk.

Medon Berisha volleyed midway through the first half for Lecce after Fiorentina midfielder Cher Ndour lost control near mid-field.

A VAR review erased a penalty chance for Fiorentina in the second half.

Pioli was hired when previous Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino unexpectedly left after guiding the club to a sixth-place finish last season.

Fiorentina has done well in Europe recently, finishing runner-up in consecutive Conference League finals before reaching the semifinals of the third-tier continental competition last season.

Through two matches of this season’s Conference League, Fiorentina tops the table. The Viola next visit Mainz on Thursday.

Pioli led Milan to the Serie A title in 2022 then coached Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia before joining Fiorentina.

Fiorentina remained next to last, one point above Genoa. Lecce moved up to 15th.

On Saturday, Fiorentina announced that it had terminated the contract of sporting director Daniele Prade by mutual consent. Now, Pioli could be the next one out.

Own-goal for Inter

Earlier, Inter moved within one point of Napoli with a 2-1 win at Hellas Verona that was decided with a stoppage-time own-goal.

Piotr Zielinski put Inter ahead early on when Inter executed a set piece from a corner kick. Giovane equalized for Verona before the break.

Then Pio Esposito’s presence led to an inadvertent header into his own goal from Martin Frese three minutes into added time.

Also, Bologna won 3-1 at 10-man Parma to move up to fifth, and Torino and Pisa drew 2-2.

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