Allegri still eyeing Napoli challenge

AC Milan cannot afford to relax after their win over Sampdoria despite Serie A title rivals Inter Milan’s slip up on Saturday.

That’s the verdict of Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri who watched his side beat Sampdoria 3-0 at the San Siro as Inter slumped to a 2-0 defeat away to Parma.

The results leave Milan eight points clear of third-placed Inter, but with Napoli still within touch distance, Allegri urged his side not to let up.

“We’ve got to keep an eye on Napoli,” Allegri said.

“Admittedly eight points with only 15 available is a very tough ask, but rather than celebrate Inter falling behind, I’d keep an eye out for Napoli.”

“We struggled tonight in the first half. Sampdoria defended well in an orderly fashion and we had problems but in the second-half our pressure told and I think it was a great win.”

“After the break we put more pressure on and it went well for us.”

Clarence Seedorf, Antonio Cassano and Robinho all got on the scoresheet for Milan, but Allegri could be facing a striker shortage in the coming weeks with Alexandre Pato and Christian Abbiati both limping off injured and Zlatan Ibrahimovic serving a three-match suspension.

“We hope to get Pippo Inzaghi back before the end of the season, as he is training well and working really hard,” Allegri said.

“At this point there are no big problems. We are leading and we have to keep going to the end. We still have Robinho and Cassano upfront. We are monitoring Inzaghi week by week and his recovery is going well but he has been out for over four months.”