AC Milan win to bolster Champions League hopes

AC Milan bolstered their chances of finishing in the Champions League places in Serie A with a 2-0 win at home to relegated Frosinone on Sunday.

Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a Camillo Ciano penalty early in the second half before goals from Krzysztof Piatek and Suso secured the three points.

Gennaro Gattuso's side have are in fifth place on 65 points and trail third-placed Atalanta, who moved to 66 points with a draw against Juventus on Sunday. and fourth-placed Inter, who remained on 66 points after losing to Napoli.

The result means Milan are mathematically assured of at least Europa League football next season, as they are five points clear of seventh-placed Torino with one round remaining.

Getty Images

---

"It was a difficult game. We knew it would be and that Frosinone would come here with the right attitude," Gattuso told Sky Italia. "We had a scare, we thank Donnarumma for getting us out of trouble and can look to the next game.

"In my view, there has been a lot of chatter and I've been considered on the way out since preseason. The table talks. Look over the last six years at how many points Milan earned and look where we are now. I think we did what we had to do."

The home side were booed off by the San Siro crowd after a poor first-half performance against second-bottom Frosinone and things promised to get worse when Ignazio Abate bundled over Luca Paganini to concede a penalty four minutes after the break.

However, Donnarumma sprang to his left to keep out Ciano's 50th minute spot kick before Piatek prodded in the opener from close range seven minutes later.

Suso then curled a wonderful free kick into the net off the crossbar after 67 minutes to double the hosts' advantage.

The fans gave long-serving defender Abate a standing ovation when he was substituted in the closing stages. The 32-year-old was making his final home appearance after 10 years at the club ahead of his departure at the end of his contract.