Giroud ends Milan slump with Torino winner

Olivier Giroud ended AC Milan’s dramatic slump with the only goal in Friday’s 1-0 win over Torino which moved the champions back into the Serie A top four.

France striker Giroud claimed the points for Milan with a trademark header from Theo Hernandez’s cross midway through the second half at the San Siro, snapping a three-match losing streak in Italy’s top flight.

His seventh league goal of the campaign moved Milan up to third, 15 points behind runaway league leaders Napoli who host Cremonese on Sunday night.

Milan are two points behind second-placed local rivals Inter Milan and also have Roma, Lazio and Atalanta all within three points behind them and still to play this weekend.

“His goal kind of unblocked us mentally and we were much better to watch afterwards. It’s a small step forward that we needed,” said coach Stefano Pioli. The win will be a boost for Milan ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.

Milan came into Friday’s match having not won any of their previous seven fixtures in all competitions, a dreadful run of form which left Pioli conceding the Scudetto won on the final day of last season.

Pioli stuck with the recent change to a three-man defence trialled in last weekend’s derby defeat to Inter Milan and although the result was this time a positive one, the performance will not have Tottenham unduly worried.