AC Milan continued their strong form following their victory over Real Madrid with a 3-2 win at bottom-placed Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Christian Pulisic put the seven-time champions ahead midway through the first half, finishing off a counter-attack. Rafael Leao then restored Milan’s lead after Tigran Barseghyan had equalised for Bratislava, with Tammy Abraham quickly adding another.

Bratislava’s Nino Marcelli pulled one back with a long-range strike in the 88th minute, but the home side finished with 10 men on the pitch.

Milan moved up to 10th place in the new single-league format, now within reach of the automatic qualification spots. Bratislava, on the other hand, has lost all five of its matches.

In their previous match, Milan triumphed 3-1 at Madrid.

Meanwhile, Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez scored twice as Atletico Madrid thrashed Sparta Prague 6-0, moving up to 9th place.

Alvarez opened the scoring with a free-kick after 15 minutes, and Marcos Llorente added a long-range effort before the break. Alvarez completed a counter-attack early in the second half, set up by substitute Antoine Griezmann, who marked his 100th Champions League appearance by getting on the scoresheet himself.

Angel Correa added a brace late on to seal the win for Atletico.

Having beaten Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, Atletico extended their winning streak to six matches across all competitions.

Sparta Prague remain in the elimination places with just four points.

The top eight teams in the standings will advance directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will enter a knockout play-off in February, while the bottom 12 teams will be eliminated.

Later matches include: Manchester City vs Feyenoord; Barcelona vs Brest; Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain; Inter Milan vs Leipzig; Young Boys vs Atalanta; Bayer Leverkusen vs Salzburg; and Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal.