Nkunku breaks Serie A goal duck to fire AC Milan top

MILAN, Italy, Dec 28 (AFP): Christopher Nkunku fired AC Milan top of Serie A with a brace in Sunday's 3-0 win over Verona at the San Siro, the France forward's first goals in Italy's top flight.

Nkunku ended a league goal drought stretching back to February when he doubled Milan's lead two minutes after half-time with a penalty he earned.

Five minutes later he was on hand to tap home the third and give the hosts a two-point lead over local rivals Inter Milan.

The 28-year-old's only previous goal for Milan since signing from Chelsea for an initial 37 million euros ($43.6 million) in August came against Lecce in the Italian Cup in September.

Inter can reclaim top spot later on Sunday when they make the short trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta who have been revitalised since Raffaele Palladino took charge last month.

Milan were set on their way to a comprehensive victory on the stroke of half-time by Christian Pulisic who continued his sensational form by scoring his eighth goal in 11 Serie A appearances. Pulisic, who has missed around a month of this campaign to injury, has had a hand in 50 goals in Serie A since arriving at Milan in 2023. He broke Verona's spirited resistance when he prodded home Adrien Rabiot's flick-on at a corner in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half.