MILAN
\nRafael Leao fired a warning shot to the rest of Serie A on Saturday with his brace in AC Milan\u2019s 3-2 derby triumph over Inter Milan which put his team level with league leaders Napoli, 2-1 winners at Lazio thanks to rising star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
\nPortugal winger Leao struck twice in each half in a pulsating clash at the San Siro, the first since Milan\u2019s takeover by US investment fund RedBird was completed in the week, which put the champions a point ahead of Atalanta and Roma at the summit.
\nFans bounced in the stands after a thrilling match full of goalmouth incident which was decided by Leao and Olivier Giroud, who after Marcel Brozovic\u2019s 21st minute opener for Inter put Milan two goals to the good on the hour mark.
\n\u201cIf you want to improve you need talent and intelligence and Leao has both of those,\u201d said Milan coach Stefano Pioli.
\n\u201cEvery time we put him in one-on-one situations he\u2019s a huge weapon for us.\u201d
\nHowever they also had the magnificent Mike Maignan to thank for the three points after the France goalkeeper pulled off four superb stops from Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko \u2013 also a scorer \u2013 and Hakan Calhanoglu.
\nLeao\u2019s second came after a mesmerising piece of dribbling and close control, and with the transfer window now shut and Chelsea rumours died down he will be key to Milan\u2019s Champion League campaign which begins at Salzburg on Tuesday.
\nA second defeat in five matches leaves an Inter team without the injured Romelu Lukaku sixth and with Bayern Munich coming to town on Wednesday night.
\nNapoli lead Milan on goal difference after new boy Khvicha Kvaratskhelia continued his sensational start to life in Italy with the winner at Lazio, seventh after their first defeat of the campaign.
\nThe 21-year-old, who also struck the post and missed another great chance before scoring, has captured fans\u2019 imaginations with a series of decisive displays and will be one of Napoli\u2019s key weapons when they host Liverpool in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
\n\u201cGoing into Wednesday\u2019s match with a win is a positive, we know we\u2019re facing a brilliant team and we\u2019ll have these three days to prepare… We\u2019ll look to put in a great performance on Wednesday as well,\u201d said captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo to DAZN.
\nLuciano Spalletti\u2019s side are unbeaten on 11 points thanks to a hard-fought win in Rome in which they fought back from going behind after just three minutes following Mattia Zaccagni\u2019s drilled opener for the hosts.
\nThe away side drew level seven minutes before the break through Kim Min-Jae, whose thumping header from Piotr Zielinski\u2019s corner just crossed the line despite the best efforts of Lazio stopper Ivan Provedel.
\nAnd Georgia international Kvaratskhelia netted dominant Napoli\u2019s winner and his fourth of the season in the 61st minute when he met Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa\u2019s low pull back with a thumping effort against which Provedel could do nothing.
\nNapoli\u2019s win was marred by losing Hirving Lozano in the first half to a nasty looking head injury, with later reports indicating a possible face fracture.
\nJuventus are level on nine points with Inter after a disappointing 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.
\nThey could count themselves fortunate to have left Florence with a draw as after Arkadiusz Milik gave the away side a ninth-minute lead, Christian Kouame levelled midway through the first half and Mattia Perin pushed Luka Jovic\u2019s penalty onto the post just before the break.
\n\u201cThe boys played well, I saw good commitment and we kept our five-match unbeaten run going,\u201d said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, who is under pressure from supporters after a series of dull displays.
\nJuve had new signing Leandro Paredes \u2013 who gave away the missed penalty \u2013 made his first start while Angel Di Maria returned after recovering from a thigh injury, but they lacked spark in their third draw from five league fixtures.
\nA poor performance in which Milik\u2019s goal was their only shot on target is not a good omen for Juve heading into Tuesday\u2019s Champions League Group H opener at Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MILAN Rafael Leao fired a warning shot to the rest of Serie A on Saturday with his brace in AC Milan\u2019s 3-2 derby triumph over Inter Milan which put his team level with league leaders Napoli, 2-1 winners at Lazio thanks to rising star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Portugal winger Leao struck twice in each half in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n