Soccer: Juve outclass AC Milan

MILAN: On-loan AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain apologised for his meltdown in the 2-0 defeat to his parent club Juventus on Sunday which saw him sent off for screaming at the referee after earlier missing a penalty.

Argentine Higuain had shrugged off a back injury to take on his former teammates after being loaned to AC Milan last summer to make space for the arrival of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.But tensions boiled over as AC Milan struggled to find a way past the reigning seven-time champions.

Higuain was sent off after 83 minutes, two minutes after Ronaldo, the player who took his place in Turin on an 100-million-euro ($115m) deal, fired in his eighth league goal in 12 matches since arriving from Real Madrid. Higuain saw red after screaming at referee Paolo Mazzoleni in protest at a yellow card for a foul on Medhi Benatia. The 30-year-old was loaned to AC Milan with a 36-million-euro option to buy with defender Leonardo Bonucci moving the other way. He has scored five goals for Milan but could not get one past his former club, for whom he scored 16 goals in the league last season. Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic headed in the opener in the eighth minute at the San Siro, before Higuain failed to convert his 40th-minute chance from the spot after a Benatia handball.

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tipped the ball onto the post. AC Milan’s third loss his season saw them drop out of the Champions League places into fifth behind Lazio who moved back into fourth despite a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo. Coach Gennaro Gattuso conceded his side were no match for Juventus who bounced back from their Champions League defeat to Manchester United to maintain their six-point advantage ahead of ahead of Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli. Inter Milan drop to third a further three behind after losing 4-1 at Atalanta.

Derby defeat leaves Man Utd fighting for top 4: Manchester United can forget trying to challenge Manchester City until they can even compete for a place in the Premier League top four, Jose Mourinho confessed as his side were outclassed in a 3-1 derby defeat by the English champions on Sunday. A fourth league loss of the season leaves United already 12 points adrift of their local rivals just 12 games into the new campaign.

Of even more concern for Mourinho’s job prospects, the Red Devils are now also seven points adrift of the top four, putting Champions League qualification for next season at risk. Indeed, eighth-placed United are now as close to Cardiff in the relegation zone as they are to City.

Yet Mourinho’s tune was very different on his last visit to the Etihad when United spoiled City’s chance to seal the title in the derby by coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2. “The point is can we improve enough to catch them next season?” Mourinho said that day in April, but has only overseen a collapse in United’s ambitions since.

Despite spending more than City in the summer transfer window, the Portuguese coach has routinely trotted out the excuse that he was not backed enough in the market to mount a title challenge. Mourinho’s latest justification was that City had an easier week to prepare having thrashed Southampton and Shakhtar Donetsk 6-1 and 6-0 respectively at home, while United fought to the end to secure 2-1 wins at Bournemouth and Juventus.