New signings help Milan while Ronaldo scores season 20th

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AC Milan's January signings Krzysztof Piatek and Lucas Paqueta were both on the scoresheet after an own goal put the hosts on the way to a 3-0 win over Cagliari and a return to fourth place in Serie A on Sunday.

Cagliari's Luca Ceppitelli could do nothing to avoid putting through his own goal in the 13th minute to open the scoring before Paqueta broke his Milan duck nine minutes later.

Piatek, who got 13 league goals for Genoa before joining Milan last month, scored just past the hour for his fourth in four appearances for his new club, finding the net against a 13th different Serie A opponent this season in the process.

Krzysztof Piatek of AC Milan celebrates his goal during the Serie A match against Cagliari at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, February 10, 2019. /VCG Photo

Milan are again in the fourth place with 39 points, four points behind Inter Milan in third but a point clear of AS Roma, Atalanta and Lazio, who are all in the hunt for a Champions League qualifying spot and won at the weekend.

The Rossoneri were therefore under pressure to deliver a result and they produced a dominant display against a Cagliari team that has not won away to Milan since May 1997.

Gennaro Gattuso's side took the lead when Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno pushed Suso's shot into the chest of defender Ceppitelli and it rebounded into his own net.

Paqueta, who joined Milan for a reported 35 million euros (39.61 million U.S dollars) from Flamengo in the January transfer window, then tucked a shot into the net at the back post after a magnificent cross from full-back Davide Calabria.

AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta (R) holds off Cagliari's Italian defender Luca Ceppitelli during their Serie A match at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, February 10, 2019. /VCG Photo

Cagliari came close to pulling one back on the hour mark when Joao Pedro's header was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, making his 150th Milan appearance, before the Brazilian's follow-up effort came back off the crossbar.

Two minutes later Piatek put the result beyond doubt by finding the net through a crowded area after Cragno's block fell in his path, leaving Cagliari in 15th place on 21 points.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores

Cristiano Ronaldo's 20th goal for Juventus helped the Italian champions restore an 11-point lead in Serie A with a 3-0 win at Sassuolo on Sunday.

The Portuguese rose to head in a corner after 70 minutes, his 18th league goal and one that means he has now scored at least 20 times in all competitions in each of the last 13 seasons representing Juve, Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Juventus dropped points for just the third time this season when they were held by Parma last weekend to allow second-placed Napoli to reduce the gap to nine points. But Massimiliano Allegri's side re-established a comfortable advantage with victory at the Mapei Stadium after Napoli drew with Fiorentina on Saturday.

The home side started brightly as Filip Djuricic raced clear only for Wojciech Szczesny to get a hand on the ball as the forward attempted to go around him, and the Pole was called into action again when he palmed away Manuel Locatelli's shot from distance.

Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli's sloppy clearance was punished after 23 minutes when Ronaldo pounced on the loose ball and fired a powerful shot at goal which was parried, only for Sami Khedira to knock in the rebound.

Ronaldo then had a neat finish disallowed for offside before Szczesny took a poor touch near the center circle to offer Domenico Berardi a clear sight of goal, but the Italy international's long-range effort was just wide of an unguarded net.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match against Sassuolo at Stadio Mapei in Reggio Emilia, Italy, February 10, 2019. /VCG Photo

Ronaldo, who leads the Serie A scoring charts, doubled his side's lead by nodding in from six yards and Emre Can came off the substitute's bench to finish off a flowing team move with a low finish four minutes from time.

The result leaves unbeaten Juventus on top with 63 points from 23 matches, while Sassuolo remain 11th on 30 points.

In other matches on Sunday, Bologna drew 1-1 with Genoa, Torino scored the only goal in the match against Udinese, Sampdoria lost to Frosinone 1-0 and Atalanta beat SPAL 2-1 at home.

Source(s): Reuters