Stefano Pioli says top four remains the target for youthful AC Milan

AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli says qualifying for next season's Champions League remains top priority even after a 2-1 win over Roma put their Serie A title ambitions back on track.

The victory ends a four-match winless run in all competitions for Milan, whose hopes of a first scudetto in 10 years suffered a blow following back-to-back league defeats to Spezia and Inter.

Milan versus Manchester United lights up Europa League last 16 draw

The Rossoneri topped the league standings until two weeks ago, and Sunday's thrilling win in Rome made sure the gap with Inter, who lead by four points, did not get any wider.

Pioli suggested that moving eight points clear of Roma in fifth place could be more significant for his side in the final few months of the season.

“If you said a few months ago that we would be second in the table, nobody would have believed it,” he told Sky Italia.

“If we instead had 40 points, they would have said that we were having a great season, fighting for the Champions League after all these years.

“There are seven very strong teams, in the end only four will be happy and we hope to be one of them.”

Milan have not featured in the Champions League since the 2013/14 season, and Pioli was keen to point out the progress made by his team.

“We’re doing something important; we have 17 more points than we did last season, we’re the youngest team and the team that has played the most games,” he said.

“It was a performance of great spirit and quality, I’m really satisfied that we’ve managed to win."

The visitors hit the bar and had two goals disallowed before Franck Kessie scored from the penalty spot to give them a deserved half-time lead.

Roma, who also had a goal chalked off in the first half, quickly responded after the break when midfielder Jordan Veretout curled in his 10th league goal of the season.

But a superb turn and finish from Ante Rebic put the visitors back in front after 58 minutes and they held on despite late pressure from the hosts.

Roma remain fifth and the defeat continued a poor run for coach Paulo Fonseca against fellow top-seven sides.

He has earned just three points from a possible 24 this season in games against Milan, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, Atalanta and Napoli.

“We got the first 20 minutes wrong. We didn’t start well and against Milan that means it becomes difficult,” he said.

“We got back into the game and played well. It’s true that we started badly, and the chances created by Milan were mostly from turnovers we gave away.”

Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

War and the virus

Simon Rushton: War vet raises £12m for health workers

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

While you're here

Hussein Ibish: America's attitude to Palestine and Israel has subtly shifted

Con Coughlin: With every missile fired in Israel-Gaza, Biden's clout reduces

Anwar Mhajne: The moral burden of being a Palestinian citizen of Israel

Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

PRISCILLA

%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Sofia%20Coppola%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Cailee%20Spaeny%2C%20Jacob%20Elordi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

While you're here

Damien McElroy: It's too early to say who will win the vaccine hurdle race

Mustafa Alrawi: To get the 'jab' done, governments must show patience and empathy

Editorial: The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills