AC Milan took on Genoa at the San Siro on Saturday in desperate need of a victory after their worst start in club history. Luck was finally in the cards for the downtrodden Rossoneri, as birthday boy Stephan El Sharaawy proved a late hero with a 77th minute tap in from an Ignazio Abate cross.
Milan dominated possession early on, but Genoa carved out the first opportunity of the match. Ciro Immobile was brought down 25 yards from goal, giving Bosko Jankovic a free-kick attempt, but the Serbian’s well-struck effort was too central to trouble Marco Amelia.
On 17 minutes, Cristian Zapata lackadaisically gave the ball away in his own penalty area, allowing Andrea Bertolacci to cross for Immobile, but Amelia did just enough to get the ball clear and save Milan from disaster.
The Rossoneri finally recorded a shot after 25 minutes, as Riccardo Montolivo launched a long ball upfield to find Luca Antonini at the far post, but the veteran Italian’s header was tame and easily held by Sebastien Frey.
Soon after, Antonini picked out Yepes with a cross following the corner, but the Colombian over-cooked his header and hit it over the crossbar.
El Sharaawy robbed Genoa in midfield and embarked on a fantastic run, but his shot at the end was blocked away by Andreas Granqvist. From the resulting corner, Montolivo smartly rolled the ball into the path of the charging Nigel De Jong on the edge of the area, but the Dutch international’s side-footed drive was beaten away in the crowded box.
On 38 minutes a poorly defended corner fell to the feet of El Sharaawy, who flashed a low cross across the face of goal, but Antonini arrived just too late to get a touch with the goal gaping.
Pato was wrestled to the ground in the area with the clock approaching halftime, but the referee waved play on despite the insistent protests of the oft-injured Brazilian.
Milan continued to press for a goal, whipping in a wealth of crosses in the final minutes of the first half, but were unable to find the back of the net, so the two sides entered the break deadlocked at 0-0.
On 54 minutes, Milan had penalty appeals again when De Jong was pushed down in the area whilst attempting to bring down a cross. Their pleas fell on deaf ears as Ignazio Abate blasted a shot in that Frey beat away with two legs.
The Rossoneri continued to attack Genoa mercilessly, but couldn’t locate their cutting edge as Kevin Constant had a shot charged down and Urby Emanuelson blasted over after excellent control and some neat footwork.
At the other end, Jankovic attempted to catch Amelia off guard with a drive from distance, but the Milan keeper was alert and controlled it with relative ease.
On 77 minutes, the wounded Diavolo finally broke the stalemate. Abate was released down the right flank, and flashed in a perfect cross across the face of goal for El Sharaawy to tap in. The young Italian immediately urged his teammates to remain calm in a display of leadership belying his years, reminding them the match was yet to be won.
Emanuelson nearly gave Milan an insurance goal with 5 minutes remaining, but his shot continued rising all the way , flying just inches above the bar.
The Rossoneri continued to hold the ball despite having taken the lead, not allowing Genoa to make forays into the offensive third. Immobile was able to break free in the Milan area in stoppages, but was flagged offside.
The final whistle was greeted with a roar of approval from the home tifosi, as Max Allegri’s side were able to claim a desperately needed 3 points at the San Siro.
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