MILAN: Napoli extended their lead at the top of Serie A to moved seven points on Sunday after they won 2-0 at Sampdoria while a goal in stoppage time by striker Tammy Abraham helped AS Roma snatch a 2-2 draw at AC Milan as Stefano Pioli’s men’s hopes of catching up to Napoli suffered a blow.

Victor Osimhen poked Napoli ahead in the 19th minute before Eljif Elmas sealed the points with a perfectly-place penalty with eight minutes remaining at a soaking Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

After netting his league-leading 10th goal of the season Osimhen was also the victim of a brutal foul from Tomas Rincon, who was sent off in the 38th minute for chopping the 24-year-old down as he charged towards goal.

Luciano Spalletti’s side have 44 points from 17 games.

Napoli dampened an emotional evening for Sampdoria whose fans said goodbye to Gianluca Vialli and Sinisa Mihajlovic two of their most popular former players.

Vialli, Sampdoria’s all-time great and a key figure in their only league title triumph in 1991, died on Friday due pancreatic cancer at the age of 58 while former player and manager Mihajlovic succumbed to leukemia last month and Sunday’s match was their first home fixture since he passed away.

A giant banner hung in the stands for Vialli read “Striker. Champion. Legend.”

In the day’s last match, It was a soggy night at the San Siro, creating slippery conditions that affected the play.Milan’s draw with Roma means that the Rossoneris are third in the standings with 37 points after 17 games, level with second-placed Juventus on points and seven behind Napoli. Roma are in sixth place with 31 points.

Pierre Kalulu gave Milan the lead when he headed in from a corner on the half-hour mark.Tommaso Pobega doubled Milan’s lead in the 77th minute when he was played into space in the box and smashed the ball into the lower right corner with one touch.

Roger Ibanez pulled one back for Roma three minutes before stoppage time when he headed in a corner, and Abraham completed the late comeback six minutes later when he managed to send in a rebound from inside the box.

Earlier, Razvan Marin lashed home the leveller in the fourth minute of stoppage time to earn Empoli a 2-2 draw at Lazio.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023