BOLOGNA, Italy, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Adrien Rabiot scored one goal and laid on another as AC Milan eased to a commanding 3-0 Serie A victory over hosts Bologna on Tuesday to keep the heat on their city rivals Inter Milan at the top of the table.
The win takes second-placed Milan to 50 points from their 23 games, five points behind leaders Inter. Bologna stay in 10th place with 30 points from 23 games.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Christopher Nkunku added the second from the penalty spot six minutes before the break after he had been fouled by home goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.
Rabiot was superb and got the goal his performance deserved on 48 minutes when he latched onto a defensive error to make it 3-0 in a dominant display from the visitors that keeps them in the hunt for the title.
"The game was very simple," Rabiot told DAZN. "At the beginning we couldn't keep the ball in front, then we gained confidence and we could have scored at any moment.
"We are satisfied with the result, but we could have done better and scored more in the second half."
Milan have still only lost one of their 23 Serie A games this season, and never looked like losing this one as they were on the front foot from the start and created several excellent chances before they did break the deadlock.
Loftus-Cheek should have opened the scoring early on when he was one-on-one with Ravaglia, but hesitated at the crucial moment, allowing the keeper to dive at his feet and make the save.
But he did get his goal after Bologna failed to clear when Ravaglia could only parry Nkunku's header and Loftus-Cheek side-footed home from 12 yards after being fed by Rabiot.
CLEAR PENALTY
Milan were awarded a penalty after some slick passing put Nkunku free in the box and he was brought down by Ravaglia for a clear spot-kick.
Nkunku, who was the subject of speculation that he could move away from Milan in January, took it himself and converted easily for his fifth goal in six Serie A games.
If Bologna were hoping for a change in fortunes in the second half, those thoughts were quickly extinguished as three minutes after the break, Rabiot raced onto a poor throw across his own box by Juan Miranda and easily slotted the ball into the net for 3-0.
(Reporting by Nick SaidEditing by Toby Davis)
