The Japan Times - Nkunku fires Milan top of Serie A, Hojlund keeps Napoli in touch

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 one-point lead over Napoli who won 2-0 at Cremonese thanks to a Rasmus Hojlund double.

The 28-year-old Nkunku'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.

"He's a sensitive lad, one who is keen to do well here... I think he can continue to improve just like we have to," said Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri.

"We're going to need everyone because we have a really busy schedule over the next month or so."

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 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.

- Hojlund on a roll -

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.

Hojlund took his all-competitions tally for Napoli to eight as champions Napoli cruised to the three points in Cremona and maintained their push to retain the Scudetto.

Fresh from winning the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, Napoli were the better team from the first whistle and were deservedly ahead in the 13th minute when Hojlund pounced on a deflection to net from close range.

And Hojlund was again in the right place at the right time seconds before the break when Alessio Zerbin could only divert Matteo Politano's cross straight to the Denmark striker, who calmly poked home.

Hojlund has scored six times in 12 Serie A appearances, two more than he managed in an entire Premier League campaign with Manchester United last season.

Sunday's brace was his second for Napoli after he also scored both goals in their win earlier this month over fierce rivals Juventus who drop down to fourth, three points behind Milan.

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.

H.Hayashi--JT