A late goal from Ademola Lookman secured Atalanta a hard-fought 2-1 win over AC Milan on Friday, lifting the hosts to the top of Serie A.

With three minutes left a corner went across the penalty area and an unmarked Lookman headed in the winning goal for Atalanta.

The result moved the hosts to the top of the table with 34 points, two ahead of Napoli, who play Lazio at home on Sunday. Milan is seventh with 22 points.

The victory meant Atalanta repeated its record-breaking nine-game winning streak in Serie A, tying its winning streak from February to July 2020.

In a sign of things to come, both Atalanta and Milan started aggressively and created chances in the first few minutes.

Christian Pulisic’s angled shot was blocked by Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi in the opening seconds and just moments later Mario Pasalic missed a close-range opportunity for the hosts, sending the ball flying over the crossbar.

In the seventh minute, Milan thought they had taken the lead when Álvaro Morata scored, but his celebration was cut short by the offside flag.

Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images

---

Former Milan player Charles De Ketelaere gave Atalanta the lead after 12 minutes with a header from a perfectly executed corner.

Ten minutes later, Milan responded when Rafael Leão sent a cross into the box to Morata, who equalized from close range.

Milan had injury concerns just before half-time when Pulisic limped off the pitch after what appeared to be an unfortunate slip following contact with an Atalanta player.

After treatment by medical staff, the pain proved too much to continue and he was substituted, with two members of the medical team helping him from the field.

The second half was evenly balanced with both teams creating several chances and Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a save in stoppage time to prevent Atalanta from scoring their third goal.

“It’s a very important game against a very strong team that is doing well in the league. “We put in a good performance tonight, got three big points and we’ll carry on like that,” Lookman said.

“I think we just keep playing like this, game by game. We believe in ourselves as a team, so let’s keep going and stay together.”