AC Milan cut the gap to Serie A leaders and city rivals Inter Milan to three points with a crucial 3-1 away victory over Como, extending their unbeaten league run to 19 matches (W12, D7).

Riding a four-game unbeaten streak, Como made a dream start in front of their home supporters. After just 10 minutes, Marc-Oliver Kempf rose highest to head in from close range following an excellent delivery from Martin Baturina, giving the Lariani an early lead.

The hosts almost doubled their advantage soon after, with captain Lucas Da Cunha firing over the crossbar from a promising position as Milan struggled to find their rhythm. Cesc Fàbregas’ side continued to dictate the tempo, and midway through the half Mike Maignan was forced into action, tipping Nico Paz’s curling effort from 20 yards around the post.

As half-time approached, Milan owed much to Maignan, who produced a superb reflex save to keep out Anastasios Douvikas’ close-range header before denying the striker again moments later with a strong near-post stop.

Despite Como’s dominance, Milan struck back just before the break. Adrien Rabiot was brought down in the penalty area by Kempf, and Christopher Nkunku calmly converted the resulting spot-kick to score his fourth Serie A goal of the season and bring the Rossoneri level against the run of play.

Como resumed the second half with renewed intent and were again thwarted by Maignan, who made a fine save to deny Paz. However, Milan soon demonstrated their clinical edge. After 55 minutes, Rabiot timed his run perfectly to latch onto Rafael Leão’s inch-perfect through ball before coolly finishing past Jean Butez to give the visitors the lead.

The hosts pushed for an immediate response and came agonisingly close when Paz’s powerful strike from 25 yards crashed against the crossbar. Their missed chances proved costly, and Milan sealed the result late on in emphatic fashion. Rabiot struck again, this time from distance, firing past Butez from 25 yards to put the game beyond doubt and silence the home crowd.

The victory keeps Milan second in the table, with Massimiliano Allegri’s side now firmly in the title race ahead of Sunday’s home clash with Lecce, where they will look to secure back-to-back wins. Como, meanwhile, remain sixth despite seeing their unbeaten home league record come to an end.