Genoa 0-2 AC Milan: Pazzini and Balotelli combine to slay lackluster Grifoni

AC Milan continued their unbeaten start to 2013 with a 2-0 victory over Genoa at the Stadio Ferraris on Friday evening in Serie A.

Giampaolo Pazzini and Mario Balotelli netted in each half for the Rossoneri but despite Kevin Constant’s second-half expulsion, the Grifoni were unable to capitalize on their numerical advantage and trouble their opponents.

Heading into the first match of this weekend, Milan were looking to not just strengthen their hold on third place but also to close the gap on second-placed Napoli as they continue to recover from their poor start to the season.

Despite their crucial clash against Barcelona looming on the horizon, Massimiliano  Allegri opted to field a strong line-up, including recently in-form striker Pazzini and industrious midfield duo Sulley Muntari and Riccardo Montolivo.

Genoa, on the other hand, were looking to restart following a heavy 3-1 loss to Roma last week. Before then, the hosts had been unbeaten in their last five games and looked to be slowly making their way out of the bottom ranges of the league table, but with only six wins to their name so far, a win against a resurgent visiting side was a tall order to say the least.

Given the soggy and slippery weather conditions, the game started off at a relatively fast pace, with tackles flying in fast and furious, so it was not surprising when the first yellow card arrived within the opening stages of the game.  There were worrying scenes for Milan after Pazzini went down following defender Daniele Portanova’s ill-timed foul and had to leave the pitch for temporary treatment, but he bravely opted to stay on for a few more minutes–and was rewarded shortly after with his thirteenth league goal halfway through the first half.

Balotelli made his entrance three minutes later for the injured Pazzini, and marked his return to the game after an injury lay-off with a prompt yellow card less than a minute after his introduction with a reckless foul on Juan Vargas. There were more perturbing scenes after he, too seemed to be in a bit of discomfort shortly after arriving on the pitch, and with Robinho seen warming up, concerns began to arise as to whether yet another substitution was on the cards.

The hosts were certainly the victim of some questionable refereeing, with Davide Ballardini’s men having at least three penalty shouts, notably two from youngster M’Baye Niang, who committed both a handball and a reckless foul on Andreas Granqvist within the span of five minutes.

Despite being a goal down, Genoa were not ready to throw in the towel, and gave Milan a scare through Cesare Bovo’s brilliantly executed free kick five minutes into the second half which had veteran Christian Abbiati beaten, and were it not for the post, the tide of the game may have changed in the Grifoni‘s favor, who were growing in confidence as the game went on.

Yet, ten minutes later, after his indifferent start to the first half, Balotelli made amends on the hour mark after linking up well with Cristian Zapata and earned himself his fifth goal of the season.

The Rossoneri were cruising until Kevin Constant earned himself his second yellow in a moment of madness following a bad foul by Cesare Bovo and as a result, Milan were down to ten men with about 25 minutes remaining in the game.

Still, despite now being a man up, Genoa failed to take advantage of their strength in numbers and will have to go back to the drawing board as they struggle to maintain their survival in Serie A a certainty.

Milan, for their part, now will head into their upcoming game against Barcelona full of confidence after their second consecutive win in less than a week.