AC Milan and Juventus end blips with home wins

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AC Milan's Christian Pulisic (C) eyes the ball as he scores against Lecce during their Serie A match at San Siro in Milan on September 20, 2026. —AFP
AC Milan's Christian Pulisic (C) eyes the ball as he scores against Lecce during their Serie A match at San Siro in Milan on September 20, 2026. —AFP
Juventus' Francisco Conceicao (third R) shoots to score against Atalanta during their Serie A match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on September 20, 2026. —AFP
Juventus' Francisco Conceicao (third R) shoots to score against Atalanta during their Serie A match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on September 20, 2026. —AFP

AC Milan and Juventus ended short Serie A slides on Sunday, as Fiorentina held Napoli and high-flying Como suffered a shock defeat to Frosinone.

Milan beat Lecce 3-0 at the San Siro to rise to fifth, two points behind early pace-setters AS Roma, Inter Milan and Lazio.

Juventus returned to form with a 2-0 home win over Atalanta as Francisco Conceicao and Gleison Bremer struck either side of half-time.

The comfortable victory relieved pressure on Milan head coach Ruben Amorim after a three-match winless run in all competitions had stalled his side’s early progress.

“We still have a lot to do, but we are playing better and improving. The most important thing, though, is that we are learning,” Amorim told DAZN.

“In the last few games, we had some trouble because our positional structure was too rigid, whereas today the players had a bit more freedom and played better.”

Christian Pulisic marked his first start of the season with his first Milan goal of 2026, making the breakthrough in the 14th minute with an exquisite finish.

He plucked a long pass out of the air with a deft first touch before finishing calmly.

Adrien Rabiot scored at the end of a flowing move after the break, before substitute Diego Moreira struck with his third goal in two league games.

Juventus had picked up one point in their previous two league games but went in front in the 28th minute in Turin when Conceicao scored his first goal of the season with a low shot.

Chances fell at both ends in the second half as both goalkeepers were called into action and Juve striker Randal Kolo Muani made a goal-line clearance.

Bremer sealed the three points by guiding home a header from a corner with 13 minutes remaining as Juventus moved up to seventh and inflicted a third straight defeat on their former coach Maurizio Sarri.

Atalanta, who hired ex-Lazio, Chelsea and Napoli coach Sarri in the summer, sit 11th.

‘Frosinone masterpiece’

Earlier, Fiorentina maintained their unbeaten run under coach Paolo Vanoli with a 1-1 draw against Napoli.

Vanoli, who led the Florence club to safety in the second half of last season before being let go, returned as head coach when Fabio Grosso was sacked after losing the first three games of the new campaign.

La Viola showed improvement under Vanoli by beating Venezia in Serie A and Pisa in the Coppa Italia in his first two games, and the upturn in form continued as they fought back to claim a draw which kept them two points above the relegation zone.

Billy Gilmour put Napoli in front with a cushioned volley after Fiorentina hit the woodwork twice early on, but the home side drew level through a deflected Alex Jimenez strike in the second half.

“If we are not angry today, after failing to win against a good team like Fiorentina, it certainly means we need to improve,” Allegri told DAZN. “It is not enough to keep possession if you do not take your chances.”

Como had the chance to move joint-top when they travelled to newly-promoted Frosinone, but Cesc Fabregas’s side suffered their first loss of the season as a 2-0 reverse ended their four-match winning run in all competitions.

First-half goals from Giacomo Calo and Giorgi Kvernadze, and a heroic goalkeeping display by Italy Under-21 international Lorenzo Palmisani, sealed a famous win for the hosts.

“Today was our first poor game in five months, the last being in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia against Inter (in April). It was a Frosinone masterpiece today,” Fabregas said.

The win extended Frosinone’s three-match unbeaten run and took them up to sixth.

Elsewhere, Parma beat Genoa 2-1 to claim their first victory of the season and leave Daniele De Rossi’s side winless after five games.

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