European roundup: AC Milan overcome Sampdoria to stay clear at Serie A summit

| 06 December 2020

European roundup: AC Milan overcome Sampdoria to stay clear at Serie A summit

Franck Kessie and and Samu Castillejo scored for Stefano Pioli's unbeaten side.

AC Milan restored their five-point lead at the top of Serie A with a 2-1 win at Sampdoria on Sunday.

Stefano Pioli's unbeaten side grabbed the lead on the stroke of half-time through a Franck Kessie penalty, and Samu Castillejo added a second in the 77th minute to put the visitors in control.

Albin Ekdal gave Sampdoria hope when he reduced the deficit in 82nd minute but the defeat extended his side's poor run in Serie A to five matches.

Italy Soccer Serie A — Davide Calabria's Milan beat Sampdoria in Serie A (Tano Pecoraro/AP)

Napoli recorded their second straight 4-0 league win as they saw off winless Crotone, with goals from Lorenzo Insigne, Hirving Lozano, Diego Demme and Andrea Petagna.

To add to Crotone's woes, they had Jacopo Petriccione sent off just after the break.

Roma had former Chelsea forward Pedro sent off in the 40th minute of a fiery goalless draw against Sassuolo, in which both sides had goals disallowed.

Parma's game against Benvenuto also ended goalless, while Verona and Cagliari drew 1-1.

Real Sociedad missed the chance to return to the top of LaLiga as they were held to a goalless draw at Alaves, despite the hosts having Rodrigo Battaglia sent off on the hour.

Villarreal also lost ground at the top after being held to a goalless draw at home by Elche.

🔚 Final del partido. Tablas en Mendizorrotza.#AlavésRealSociedad #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/Ov2NlLUPU8

— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) December 6, 2020

Real Betis bounced back from three straight defeats with a 2-0 win at struggling Osasuna, with goals from Borja Iglesias and Juan Miranda.

Granada are now five without a win in LaLiga but two goals in the last three minutes from Jorge Molina and German Sanchez salvaged a 3-3 draw at home to bottom club Huesca.

Bayer Leverkusen leapfrogged RB Leipzig into second place with a 3-0 win at Schalke, whose winless Bundesliga streak now stands at 26 games.

Germany Soccer Bundesliga — Schalke's woes continued in a defeat to Bayer Leverkusen (Guido Kirchner/AP)

A Malick Thiaw own goal gave Leverkusen the lead and Julian Baumgartlinger and Patrik Schick added efforts in the second half.

Two goals from Silas Wamangituka gave Stuttgart a 2-1 win at struggling Werder Bremen, who replied late through Davie Selke.

Two second-half goals from Karl Toko Ekambi gave Lyon a 3-1 win at struggling Metz in Ligue 1.

La #teamOL enchaîne avec une belle victoire à Metz grâce à des buts signés @Memphis et Karl Toko Ekambi (x2) 👊🔴🔵

Prochain match, dans une semaine à Paris ! #FCMOL 1-3 pic.twitter.com/AQo9AlB1dz

— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) December 6, 2020

Both clubs finished the game with 10 men after the hosts' John Boye and Lyon substitute Mathis Cherki were sent off late on.

In their first game since sacking Patrick Vieira, Nice ended a run of five straight losses with a goalless draw at Reims.

Second-half goals from Jonathan David and Yusuf Yazici saw Lille regain second place with a 2-1 win over Monaco, who replied through Pietro Pellegri.

Struggling Strasbourg soared to a 4-0 win at Nantes while Hatem Ben Arfa's 84th-minute winner saw Bordeaux end Brest's run of four straight wins.

Angers beat struggling Lorient 2-0 and bottom club Dijon held on for a point in a goalless draw against St Etienne.