Soccer Football - Serie A - Atalanta v AC Milan - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - December 6, 2024 Atalanta's Ademola Lookman celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
BERGAMO, Italy (Reuters) -A late strike from Ademola Lookman secured Atalanta a hard-fought 2-1 win over AC Milan on Friday, lifting the hosts to the top of Serie A.
Three minutes before fulltime, a corner sailed across the box and an unmarked Lookman headed in the winner for Atalanta.
The result propelled the hosts to the top of the standings with 34 points, two ahead of Napoli who will play Lazio at home on Sunday. Milan are seventh with 22 points.
The win meant Atalanta matched their record nine-match winning streak in Serie A, equalling the run they achieved from February to July 2020.
As a sign of things to come, both Atalanta and Milan started aggressively, with chances created within the first minutes.
Christian Pulisic's angled shot was saved in the opening seconds by Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi, and moments later, Mario Pasalic missed a close-range opportunity for the hosts, sending the ball soaring over the bar.
Milan thought they had taken the lead in the seventh minute, as Alvaro Morata found the net, but his celebration was cut short by the offside flag.
Former Milan player Charles De Ketelaere leapt his marker to head Atalanta into the lead after 12 minutes, finishing off a perfectly delivered corner.
Ten minutes later, Milan replied when Rafael Leao sent a cross into the box to Morata, who swept it home from close range to equalise.
PULISIC INJURY
Milan faced an injury concern just before the break when Pulisic limped off the pitch after what looked like an unfortunate slip following contact with an Atalanta player.
After receiving treatment from the medical staff, the pain proved too much for him to continue and he was substituted, helped off the field by two members of the medical team.
Sky Sport Italia said later he was suffering from a calf muscle issue, which will require further testing.
The second half was evenly contested, with both sides creating several chances, and Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a save in stoppage time to deny Atalanta a third goal.
"It’s a very important game against a very strong team that is doing well in the league. We performed well tonight, three big points and we continue like this," Lookman said.
"I think we just continue to play the way we play, match by match. We believe in ourselves as a team, so we continue like this and stay together."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
