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AC Milan beats 10-man Lecce 3-0 in Italian Cup to keep alive trophy pursuit without European play

MILAN (AP) — AC Milan beat 10-man Lecce 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to the Italian Cup round of 16 and remain in the running for what might be its best chance at a trophy this season.

Santiago Gimenez, Christopher Nkunku and Christian Pulisic scored after Lecce center back Jamil Siebert was sent off for a foul on Nkunku

Milan will next face Lazio — one of the top-eight seeded teams that were given byes in the opening two rounds.

Milan wasn’t seeded this season because of its eighth-place finish in Serie A last season. Bologna beat Milan in last season’s Cup final and earned a seed ahead of Milan despite finishing ninth in the league.

The eighth-place finish also meant that Milan missed out on European competition for this season. So returning coach Massimiliano Allegri has labeled the Italian Cup as a major objective.

Milan opened Cup play with a 2-0 win over Bari on Aug. 17. Allegri was suspended for both Cup matches following an ugly outburst directed at the referees during the Italian Cup final as Juventus’ manager in 2024 — which cost him his job.

After dropping their opener in Serie A, the Rossoneri have won three straight in the league. Now they are on a four-match winning streak across all competitions.

Lecce is in last place in Serie A with one point from four matches.

Mexico striker Gimenez scored his first goal of the season in the 20th minute with one touch after being set up by Davide Bartesaghi.

Nkunku added another after the break with an acrobatic close-range effort. It was his first score since joining from Chelsea in August.

Pulisic also used one touch to redirect a cross from Youssouf Fofana minutes after coming off the bench. It was Pulisic's third goal in two matches after a brace and an assist for the United States standout in Milan's victory at Udinese on Saturday.

Milan also hit the woodwork three times.

Udinese and Cagliari advance

Earlier, Udinese beat Palermo 2-1 with goals from Nicolò Zaniolo and Lennon Miller; and Cagliari beat Frosinone 4-1.

Udinese will play Juventus, and Cagliari will play Napoli.

New stadium plan

Milan and Inter Milan announced agreements Tuesday with architectural firms Foster + Partners and Manica to design a new stadium if the city council approves the sale of the San Siro to the clubs.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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