MILAN (Reuters) – Rafael Leao scored twice to earn AC Milan a comfortable 2-0 home win over lowly Lecce on Sunday as Serie A’s top-four race tightened.
Leao gave Milan the lead following a corner with a towering header, which bounced in front of Lecce keeper Wladimiro Falcone and went in inside the far post in the 40th minute.
Despite dominating possession, Milan could not add to their lead until the Portugal striker doubled their advantage 15 minutes from fulltime.
The 23-year-old set off on a brilliant solo effort when he latched onto the ball in the middle of the pitch and struck low from inside the box, with his finish bouncing in off the inside of the right post.
Milan moved up one place to fifth on 56 points, level with fourth-placed AS Roma and three points behind Juventus in third, who both have a game in hand.
Lecce, in 16th with 28 points, are two points above the relegation zone.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)