MILAN (AP) — AC Milan boosted its chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League and moved back into second spot in Serie A with a 1-0 win at last-placed Hellas Verona on Sunday.
Adrien Rabiot scored the only goal of the match shortly before halftime.
The Rossoneri had been left nervously looking over their shoulders after back-to-back losses against Napoli and Udinese. But the victory lifted Milan eight points above fifth-placed Como and back into second after Napoli's loss against Lazio the previous day.
Juventus can move back to within three points of Milan with a win over Bologna later. Milan hosts Juventus next week.
Milan and Napoli are 12 points behind Serie A leader Inter Milan with five rounds remaining. If Inter beats Torino next Sunday and both Milan and Napoli fail to win, the Nerazzurri would clinch the title.
Rabiot was by far the best player of the first half and he broke the deadlock in the 41st minute. The France international won the ball in midfield and then spread it to Rafael Leão, before racing into the area to receive the through ball back and sweep it into the bottom right corner.
Matteo Gabbia was making his first appearance after two months out with injury and thought he had doubled Milan’s lead in the 74th but it was ruled out for an offside earlier in the move.
Gabbia also denied Verona a huge goalscoring chance at the other end.
Verona was 10 points from safety.
Cremonese remained without a win at home in Serie A since early December after it was held to a 0-0 draw by Torino and could drop into the relegation zone.
Cremonese was a point above 18th-placed Lecce, which plays Fiorentina on Monday.
Pisa remained level on points with Verona after losing 2-1 at home to Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa, which came from behind for the win and moved 12 points above the drop zone.
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Verona's Domagoj Bradaric, left, and AC Milan's Zachary Athekame in action during the Serie A soccer match between Hellas Verona and A.C. Milan in Verona, Italy, Sunday April 19, 2026. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)
AC Milan's Adrien Rabiot, left, celebrates scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Hellas Verona and A.C. Milan in Verona, Italy, Sunday April 19, 2026. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A center-left coalition led by ex-President Rumen Radev will win Bulgaria 's parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested Sunday, though the list might not garner enough votes to rule alone, which could prolong a years-long political deadlock in the European Union country.
The election on Sunday was the country's eighth in five years, illustrating a crippling political impasse that has gripped this Balkan nation.
The poll conducted by Trend research group showed Radev's Progressive Bulgaria earning 39.2% support, edging out the center-right GERB party of its veteran leader, Boyko Borissov, which is expected to capture 15.1% of the vote. Despite the huge gap between the two groups, the predicted percentage may not be enough for Radev to form a one-party government, and he will face the uphill task of looking for partners to govern.
The exit poll also predicted that voter turnout stood at 43.4%, and that six parties could pass the 4% threshold to enter a fragmented parliament.
Radev said after the initial projections were announced that “we will do our best to prevent having to go to the polls” again.
“It (new election) will be a disaster for Bulgaria,” he said. "It would mean going from crisis to crisis when what we have to do is work very hard to emerge from these crises.”
The snap vote followed the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption.
If confirmed in an official tally, the victory's of Radev's coalition could potentially bring to power a left-leaning leader who is seen by critics as pro-Russian. Last weekend, Hungarian voters rejected the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement of Viktor Orbán, who cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Radev resigned from the mostly ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to launch a bid to lead the government as prime minister.
The 62-year-old former fighter pilot and air force commander has promised to give the nation a fresh start. His supporters are split on those hoping he will put an end to the country’s oligarchic corruption and those lining up behind his Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly views.
Radev's popularity surged as he has cast himself as an opponent of the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians. At campaign rallies he vowed to “remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power.”
Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament.
After voting on Sunday, Radev said that Bulgaria now has a historic chance to change the alleged oligarchic model of governance. He urged people to go to the polls because mass “voting is the only way to drown vote-buying in a sea of free votes.”
Though Radev has officially denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly opposed military aid to Kyiv and has favored reopening talks with Russia as a way out of the conflict.
Radev’s relatively vague campaign has left him open for cooperation with almost any party in the future Parliament, according to Mario Bikarski, senior Eastern and Central Europe analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Radev, however, seems reluctant to enter a formal coalition with the hard right and openly pro-Russian Revival party, Bikarski said.
Bulgaria is a European Union and NATO member country, joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov speaks to journalists after casting his vote in a polling station in Bankya, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov speaks to journalists after casting his vote in a polling station in Bankya, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his vote during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev casts his vote at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A supporter of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reacts during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Supporters of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev hold posters in the colors of the Bulgarian flag during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A print on the back of a jacket of a supporter depicts the former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is seen at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev delivers a speech at the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
