Ismael Bennacer delivered the decisive second-half strike as Milan restored their three-point lead at the Serie A summit with a 1-0 victory at Cagliari on Saturday.

Napoli edged past Udinese to move level on points with Stefano Pioli's side earlier in the day, although fellow title contenders Inter were held to a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina.

Milan responded to those results with a vital victory despite an unconvincing performance at the Unipol Domus, with Bennacer's sumptuous volley from outside the area just before the hour mark proving the difference.

A third consecutive 1-0 win keeps the Rossoneri ahead of Napoli and widens the gap to Inter to six points, albeit the defending champions have a game in hand.

Olivier Giroud miscued a presentable chance on the volley in the opening stages following a headed pass by Junior Messias, while Franck Kessie struck the post with a low drive.

Milan continued to control first-half proceedings, but Alberto Grassi provided a scare when he drilled narrowly wide.

Although the sides headed in goalless at the interval, Pioli's visitors persisted following the restart, with Theo Hernandez's ambitious long-range effort forcing an acrobatic Alessio Cragno stop. 

Milan's reward for their efforts arrived shortly after when Giroud teed up Bennacer to expertly volley into the bottom-left corner, as the Rossoneri scored in a 15th consecutive away league game – equalling the club-record top-flight run they achieved in the 1967-68 season.

Joao Pedro wastefully sliced over in response, but Cragno kept his side in the game with a smart save from Giroud that could have proved crucial had Matteo Lovato not headed wide before Keita Balde struck the crossbar – misses that instead secured a big win for Milan in the Scudetto chase.