AC Milan returned to the top of the Serie A table after securing a 1-0 away victory over Cagliari, with Rafael Leao scoring the decisive goal on his return from injury. The result extended Milan’s unbeaten league run and increased the pressure on title rivals Inter Milan and SSC Napoli ahead of the weekend fixtures.
Milan began the new year with a subdued first half in Sardinia, struggling to impose themselves despite enjoying more of the ball. Cagliari created several promising situations before the interval but were unable to convert them into clear chances. Marco Palestra wasted an early opening after breaking in behind the Milan defence, while Michel Adopo forced the first save of the match with a modest header shortly after the half hour mark. Luca Mazzitelli later dragged an effort wide at the near post as the hosts continued to threaten without reward.
The visitors were handed a brief moment of encouragement just before half time when the referee awarded a penalty, but the decision was overturned following an offside in the build up. Milan emerged with greater intent after the break and needed only five minutes of the second half to take the lead.
Leão's goal gives Milan all three points 👏#CagliariMilan pic.twitter.com/xa5ugKNStU
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 2, 2026
Adrien Rabiot delivered a low cross from the left that found Leao at the far post. The Portuguese forward showed composure to control the ball before driving his finish past Elia Caprile, scoring his sixth Serie A goal against Cagliari in ten appearances. It proved to be Leao’s final significant contribution, as he was later replaced by Niclas Fullkrug, who made his Serie A debut following his loan move from West Ham United.
Fullkrug was not afforded a clear scoring opportunity but came close to providing an assist when he set up Christian Pulisic, whose powerful effort was pushed wide by Caprile. The Cagliari goalkeeper was then called into action again late on, producing a low save to deny a curling free kick from Luka Modric.
Milan managed the closing stages to secure a narrow but important win, extending their unbeaten run in the league to sixteen matches and bringing Cagliari’s three match unbeaten home sequence to an end.
