EMPOLI, Italy: Third-placed AC Milan secured a comfortable 3-0 win at Empoli thanks to goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Olivier Giroud and Chaka Traore in Serie A on Sunday.
Milan seized the lead after 11 minutes when Rafael Leao surged past his marker on the wing, delivering a precise pass to Loftus-Cheek inside the box, who sidefooted the ball into the bottom corner.
The visitors extended their lead as Giroud scored from the penalty spot after 31 minutes, following a handball by Empoli's Youssef Maleh.
Substitute Traore scored Milan's third goal two minutes before stoppage time, capitalising on a counter-attack assisted by Christian Pulisic.
Milan are third in the standings with 39 points, nine behind leaders Inter Milan and four behind second-placed Juventus, who are in action later on Sunday.
Empoli are second-from-bottom with 13 points.
In the heavy rain, Empoli encountered difficulties in creating significant scoring opportunities and was restricted to mostly long-range attempts, while Milan maintained control for most of the match.
Milan manager Stefano Pioli faced another injury concern as defender Alessandro Florenzi was substituted off in the first half due to a suspected hamstring injury.
Pioli already had several players out injured, including Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, and Tommaso Pobega.
The hosts became more dangerous after the hour mark, as Milan keeper Mike Maignan blocked a threatening attempt by Matteo Cancellieri as well as Francesco Caputo's subsequent effort. — Reuters
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