European football: Pavlovic shoulders scoring burden as Milan sink Cremonese

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Milan moved closer to Champions League football next season after two late strikes gave them a 2-0 win at Cremonese. Strahinja Pavlovic put Milan ahead in the 90th minute with his shoulder before Rafael Leão’s simple finish in stoppage time gave the away side a result which flattered a drab display in Cremona.

Second-placed Milan have little realistic hope of winning the Serie A title as they are 10 points behind their local rivals Inter, who beat Genoa 2-0 on Saturday. Next weekend’s Milan derby has little more than local pride riding on it with Inter speeding off into the distance with 11 games remaining in the league campaign.

Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese are sliding towards relegation to Serie B: after a 13th straight match without a win, they are outside the drop zone on goal difference.

Sunday’s biggest match in Serie A is the late one, when Roma host Juventus, with the latter desperate for a win to stay in contention for a Champions League place. Juve’s elimination from this season’s competition by Galatasaray and Inter’s even more shocking exit at the hands of Bodø/Glimt severely damaged Serie A’s hopes of a fifth place next season. Juventus kicked off the weekend in fifth, four points behind Roma. Cut that to one and they have every chance of moving up to fourth; lose and the gap is seven points.

In Ligue 1, which has three Champions League slots, there is a similar match-up, with third-placed Lyon taking a five-point advantage into their game at fourth-placed Marseille.