Milan sink sampdoria in Italy

AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca came off the bench to win the ‘Battle of the Colombians’ with a late strike in a 1-0 win at Sampdoria on Friday.

Bacca started on the bench amid reports of a midweek spat with Rossoneri coach Vincenzo Montella.

But amid the ever-present danger of a Sampdoria goal from friend and compatriot Luis Muriel, Montella introduced the Colombian on the hour — and Bacca didn’t disappoint.

Samp striker Muriel was a threat throughout the first half and emulated his Colombian compatriot by almost breaking the deadlock with a second-half strike that hit the woodwork.

But five minutes from the end Bacca produced great skill to flick the ball past Emiliano Viviano in the Samp goal after collecting Suso’s perfectly-weighted pass following a Milan Skriniar error.

Montella confirmed the reports on his spat with Bacca, but said: “I have clashes all the time with the players, but everything’s under control. I’m the coach and it’s me who has to make the decisions.”

Milan’s second win in four outings moved them up to three points off Juventus at the top before the rest of the weekend programme.

Sampdoria, though, had reason to feel aggrieved after dominating the first half and seeing Muriel come so close. Milan were unremarkable in the first half, and after the restart, until Bacca came to the rescue.