Berliner Tageszeitung - Nkunku breaks Serie A goal duck to fire AC Milan top

Nkunku ended a league goal drought stretching back to February when he doubled Milan's lead two minutes after half-time with a penalty he earned.

Five minutes later he was on hand to tap home the third and give the hosts a two-point lead over local rivals Inter Milan.

The 28-year-old's only previous goal for Milan since signing from Chelsea for an initial 37 million euros ($43.6 million) in August came against Lecce in the Italian Cup in September.

Inter can reclaim top spot later on Sunday when they make the short trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta who have been revitalised since Raffaele Palladino took charge last month.

Milan were set on their way to a comprehensive victory on the stroke of half-time by Christian Pulisic who continued his sensational form by scoring his eighth goal in 11 Serie A appearances.

Pulisic, who has missed around a month of this campaign to injury, has had a hand in 50 goals in Serie A since arriving at Milan in 2023.

He broke Verona's spirited resistance when he prodded home Adrien Rabiot's flick-on at a corner in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half.

It helped Milan confidently beat one of the lower ranked teams, something which Massimiliano Allegri's players have had a hard time doing even though they haven't been beaten in Serie A since the opening day of the season.

Nkunku made sure of the points and made his case to lead the line for Milan, with Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez out until February and Niclas Fullkrug set to sign from West Ham next month.

Verona, who had won their last two matches against Atalanta and Fiorentina, stay in the relegation zone, two points behind Genoa who sit just outside the bottom three and face Roma on Monday.

Also on Sunday, champions Napoli will try to move back to within a point of Milan at Jamie Vardy's Cremonese, while Bologna host Sassuolo.

O. Larsen--BTZ