AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud (No.9) competes for a header during the match against Cagliari on March 19, 2022 in Cagliari, Italy. Photo: VCG

AC Milan kept hold of their three-point lead at the top of Serie A on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Cagliari, while Inter Milan fell further behind their local rivals after being held 1-1 by Fiorentina.

Ismael Bennacer struck the only goal in the 59th minute of a hard-fought match in Sardinia to keep Napoli at arm's length after they briefly drew level on points thanks to Victor Osimhen's double in a 2-1 win over Udinese.

A third win on the bounce for Stefano Pioli's side stretched their unbeaten league run to eight games and increased hopes of a first Scudetto since 2011, but it was a match marred by racist abuse directed at Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori from a section of home fans at the ­final whistle which sparked a on-pitch shoving match.

"Maignan said to me, 'It's not possible that we're hearing these sorts of insults,'" Pioli told DAZN.

"It's the first time that he's reacted and that means something bad happened that shouldn't have happened. Tomori said the same thing."

It was a beautiful goal which won the game, Algeria international Bennacer meeting Olivier Giroud's inviting layoff with a sumptuous first-time finish from the edge of the box with his left foot.

However, Milan would have had a less stressful final few minutes had Davide Calabria not ended a blistering counterattack with a tame finish straight at Alessio Cragno when one-on-one only a few yards out.

Leonardo Pavoletti thumped the crossbar with a powerful header as the match crept into stoppage time, but Milan just about held on for the win.

With eight games to go Milan also have the gap between them and ­Inter at six points as Simone Inzaghi's side continue their struggles.

The champions looked set for a grandstand finish at the San Siro after Denzel Dumfries headed them level in the 55th minute, but the game ended in an unhelpful stalemate.

Simone Inzaghi's side sit third - albeit with a game in hand - after having won just one of their last seven league matches and what was a four-point lead at the start of 2022 has slowly slipped through their fingers.

They face Juventus next weekend in the "Derby of Italy" and have their old rivals four points behind them in fourth and breathing down their neck after a 15-match unbeaten run in the league.

Fiorentina, who silenced the home fans when Lucas Torreira smashed home the opener four minutes after halftime, are eighth and a point away from the European places.

Loanee Torreira carried on playing despite losing a tooth after being hit in the face, staying on the field with a cotton swab in his mouth and then posting an image on Twitter of himself with a gap in his teeth. They were saved by VAR 10 minutes after Dumfries' leveller, when referee Daniele Chiffi overruled his own decision to give Inter a penalty for a foul by Lorenzo Venuti on Lautaro Martinez after an on-field review.