With city rivals Inter striding clear at the Serie A summit, the best of the rest is now AC Milan’s most realistic target.
They still face stiff competition in search of that, but taking care of their own business is all they can do, and they almost got off to the perfect start when Fikayo Tomori flicked Theo Hernandez’s delivery inches wide of the post.
It was certainly Milan doing most of the early running here and they came even closer to taking the lead midway through the first half, but a stunning Lorenzo Montipo save tipped Noah Okafor’s acrobatic effort onto the bar.
The bar was soon shaking again seconds later when Christian Pulisic freed himself on the inside right only to see his effort crash back off the underside of the bar.
The visitors eventually reaped the rewards of their dominance on the stroke of half time when a dogged Hernandez run saw him dart into the area, ride two challenges, and dink the ball over the onrushing Montipo.
A one-goal cushion was always likely to be uncomfortable for Milan, but it didn’t take them long to double their advantage after the interval when Montipo could only push Okafor’s effort into the path of the unmarked Pulisic who turned the ball home.
There was the added incentive for Milan of knowing a shut-out here would see them claim successive clean sheets against Verona for the first time since May 1992.
But their chances of doing so dissipated with a little under 30 minutes remaining when Tijjani Noslin unleashed an absolute thunderbolt from 25 yards which flew into the corner of Mike Maignan’s goal.
That set up a nervy ending to the game, but it didn’t need to be that way for the visitors, who missed a gilt-edged chance to re-establish their two-goal cushion when Rafael Leao broke clear on goal, but he could only curl his effort wide of the post.
Milan didn’t have to wait too much longer to get their two-goal cushion back though, and it came about in some style too, as Samuel Chukwueze volleyed home from the edge of the area.
That wrapped the game up as far as Milan were concerned and they were relatively untroubled in seeing out three points which ensured they remained in second spot.
The picture is much bleaker for Verona though, as they’re now just two points above the drop zone and certainly a contender to drop into Serie B.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)
