AC Milan beat Udinese as Lazio bounce back against Spal

MILAN, Nov 05 (AFP): Alessio Romagnoli scored the only goal after 97 minutes as AC Milan reclaimed fourth place in Serie A amid drama at 10-man Udinese on Sunday ahead of Lazio who earlier crushed SPAL 4-1 with Ciro Immobile bagging a brace.

Defender Romagnoli fired in the winner amid a scramble in front of goal to add to his midweek winner against Genoa, for a confidence-boost ahead of next weekend's visit by champions Juventus to the San Siro.

AC Milan and Lazio both have 21 points from 11 games, with Gennaro Gattuso's side ahead on goal difference.

The two teams are ten points behind leaders Juventus, who continued their unbeaten run with a 3-1 win over Cagliari.

Milan suffered an early blow Sunday when Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain was forced off after 35 minutes with a back problem and was replaced by Samu Castillejo.

The Spaniard forced a series of saves from Udinese goalkeeper Juan Musso, setting up Suso for what looked like a sure opener after 59 minutes only for his compatriot to fire over when alone on front of goal.