We've got a guide full of information about the best places to shop for AC Milan items online - shirts, jerseys, training tops, jackets etc., with shopping sites ranked based on the quality they offer to an AC Milan fan. Go read it now at our AC Milan shopping page!
AC MILAN BLOG
Read our AC Milan blog for the best AC Milan related commentary, rants, articles and more.
Lazio took their chances and Milan did not, as Hernanes and Tommaso Rocchi sank the Rossoneri 2-0.
This was a huge game in the Scudetto race, as the Rossoneri had the chance to close up on leaders Juventus. They were in the middle of an injury crisis with Kevin-Prince Boateng, Mathieu Flamini, Antonio Cassano, Alberto Aquilani, Mario Yepes, Gennaro Gattuso, Alexandre Pato, Alexander Merkel and Rodney Strasser unavailable. Lazio had problems too, as they missed Cristian Brocchi, Libor Kozak, Stephen Makinwa, Emiliano Alfaro, Lorik Cana and Stefano Mauri.
Antonio Nocerino’s header was well parried by Federico Marchetti, while Francelino Matuzalem’s daisy-cutter was just wide. Strangely, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was playing in a slightly deeper role than Robinho and Stephan El Shaarawy.
Marchetti rushed out of the box to nod a dangerous ball away from Ibra. Lazio threatened from a corner that flew past the crowd of players, nobody able to finish it off, while Christian Abbiati smothered a Hernanes snapshot.
El Shaarawy ran on to an Ibra through ball and got round Marchetti, staying on his feet despite some contact, but by then the angle was too narrow to score.
Ibrahimovic sprung the offside trap in midfield, but hesitated and it rolled out of play rather than set up an unmarked El Shaarawy. The Swede blamed a divot in the turf for his error and glared daggers at it.
There was controversy within 120 seconds of the restart, as El Shaarawy burst between two Lazio defenders and wanted a penalty for an Andre Dias handling offence. The referee discussed it with his assistant and suggested El Shaarawy was to blame, but replays clearly show Dias punching the ball off the Under-21 international’s chest.
Massimo Ambrosini’s header skimmed the crossbar and Lazio lost Dias to a suspected thigh strain. Christian Abbiati flapped at an Abdoullay Konko cross-shot and Tommaso Rocchi was furious, as he felt Stefan Radu was tripped just inside the area by Thiago Silva, but the referee insisted the Brazilian had not actually moved, so the Lazio player ran on to his leg.
Nocerino’s screamer was beaten away and Robinho threaded through for Ibrahimovic, who surprisingly hesitated so the chance went begging.
However, just as Milan were pelting the goal with attempts, it was Lazio who scored on the counter-attack. Hernanes got his sixth goal of the season by running on to a smart Rocchi flick and anticipating Alexxandro Nesta to flash the angled drive across Abbiati as he fell to the ground.
Hernanes nearly made it 2-0 with another well-taken angled drive on Rocchi’s dummy, but it skimmed the base of the far post.
Milan gave Maxi Lopez his debut, but Lazio doubled their lead with Rocchi’s 99th Serie A goal. Senad Lulic got to the by-line and pulled back for Rocchi, who smashed it first time into the near top corner from six yards.
Ibra wasted another chance in a really off day for the Swede, placing the daisy-cutter across the six-yard box to go wide.
Antonio Candreva received his Lazio debut just 24 hours after completing the move from Cesena.
Milan comfortably swept Cagliari aside 3-0 thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Nocerino and a rare Massimo Ambrosini strike.
The Rossoneri felt the pressure to win this tie and avoid Juventus running away at the top of the table, but a growing injury crisis ruled out Thiago Silva, Luca Antonini, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alexandre Pato, Alberto Aquilani, Alexander Merkel, Gennaro Gattuso, Mario Yepes, Antonio Cassano and Mathieu Flamini. At least confidence was boosted by a midweek Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Lazio. Massimiliano Allegri’s former club were missing Nene, Sebastian Eriksson and Lorenzo Ariaudo, but gave Mauricio Pinilla his debut just days after moving from Palermo.
Milan were unbeaten in their last 18 meetings with Cagliari, home and away, since a 1-0 loss in October 1998. Victor Ibarbo flashed a ball across the six-yard box with Pinilla too late to tap in, while Robinho threaded through for Antonio Nocerino’s shot charged down.
It was a very sluggish start to the match, as Cagliari focused on the counter-attack and the Rossoneri seemed uninspired. Djamel Mesbah fired just over the bar from a tricky angle, while Michael Agazzi smothered a Mark Van Bommel volley.
Only a moment of magic could break the deadlock and Zlatan Ibrahimovic provided it by curling a fantastic free kick into the near top corner where Agazzi could not reach, as it brushed the inside of the upright.
Ibra turned provider for the second goal, chesting down a long Philippe Mexes pass for Nocerino’s left-foot screamer on the volley from the edge of the box, flying into the near bottom corner.
Davide Astori had a good chance for the visitors, but nodded over from a corner.
After the break Agazzi flew to palm another fierce Nocerino effort round the post, while substitute Thiago Ribeiro’s strike was deflected out for a corner.
Stephan El Shaarawy came off the bench and with practically his first touch volleyed a Clarence Seedorf free kick inches past the base of the near stick. Agazzi beat away an Emanuelson effort.
Massimo Ambrosini came off the bench and scored a rare goal, passing it into the net from just inside the area from Emanuelson’s roll across.
Ibarbo sprinted past Mesbah at the byline and his shot whizzed over, just clipping the bar. Ibrahimovic made way for Pippo Inzaghi, who is reportedly leaving Milan during the transfer window.
Agazzi beat away a Van Bommel snapshot, while SuperPippo had a good chance that ricocheted off his thigh.
Milan fought back from a Djibril Cissè volley to beat Lazio 3-1 and set up an exciting Coppa Italia semi-final with Juventus.
An injury crisis ruled out Christian Abbiati, Alexandre Pato, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alberto Aquilani, Gennaro Gattuso, Antonio Cassano and Mathieu Flamini, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva were rested. Stephan El Shaarawy and Alexander Merkel got rare chances to shine, while Djamel Mesbah had his first start since last week’s move from Lecce. Lazio switched to a new three-man defence, as Stefan Radu, Stefano Mauri, Libor Kozak, Emiliano Alfaro, Lorik Cana and Cristian Brocchi were injured.
Djibril Cissè had not scored since the opening round of the Serie A season in this stadium, a 2-2 September draw with Milan, and clearly he is inspired by this fixture. Within five minutes he had given Lazio the lead with a fine volley on the Alvaro Gonzalez cross from the right, ending the longest goal drought of his career, but was given acres of space through the middle of the Milan defence.
Senad Lulic burst between Merkel and Ignazio Abate for his shot to bounce off Marco Amelia’s chest.
However, the Rossoneri equalised when Merkel nodded Abate’s cross into the air, but it dropped beautifully for an unstoppable Robinho volley under the bar.
Milan suddenly turned the game around completely moments later, going from 0-1 to 2-1 in under three minutes. El Shaarawy was instrumental with a delightful backheel flick to send the pass between two defenders, as Clarence Seedorf kept his cool to drive a powerful finish over Federico Marchetti.
It should’ve been 2-2 at the 22nd minute, but Amelia somehow got down in time to fingertip a Gonzalez free header off the line. Robinho pounced on a defensive error to go round Marchetti, but had narrowed the angle too much and only hit the side-netting. The Brazilian was also halted in a promising move by a very tight offside decision.
Cissè had plenty of space again, but this time the volley was well wide of the target. Amelia flew to palm a splendid Hernanes free kick out of the far top corner, then Cissè turned the corner on to the side-netting. At the other end, Merkel just failed to make contact with Seedorf’s pass over the top.
Cristian Ledesma came on for the second half to shelve the three-man defence and El Shaarawy lost a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Abdoullay Konko. Seedorf shook off one challenge, but was well tackled in the box before he could pull the trigger.
Andre Dias was remarkably lucky not to get sent off and give away a penalty when he was caught on camera punching Mark Van Bommel in the back of the head as a corner was whipped in. Neither the referee nor assistant saw the incident, so video evidence could well be used against Dias.
El Shaarawy volleyed over from just inside the area and substitute Miroslav Klose’s header was off target. Merkel sprained his knee, so made way for Ibrahimovic. Amelia pushed a Cissè screamer out from under the bar and El Shaarawy held off two defenders only to prod the finish just wide of the upright.
Lazio pushed forward in the closing stages, but this just left space for Ibrahimovic to spring the offside trap from Urby Emanuelson’s through ball and pass it round Marchetti in a one-on-one. Replays suggest the Swede might’ve been just offside.
AC Milan: Amelia; Abate, Mexes, Bonera, Mesbah; Merkel (Ibrahimovic 69), Van Bommel, Nocerino; Seedorf (Emanuelson 74);Robinho (Calvano 89), El Shaarawy
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a brace around Robinho’s tap-in, as Milan cruised to a 3-0 victory in Novara.
The Rossoneri were desperate to get back on track after the derby defeat ended their run of 10 wins and 12 draws, not to mention lost their chances of becoming Winter Champions. They also played Novara midweek and were forced into extra time to beat them 2-1 for a place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, so confidence was very low.
Kevin-Prince Boateng and Alessandro Nesta were suspended, while the injury crisis ruled out Christian Abbiati, Alexandre Pato, Gennaro Gattuso, Alberto Aquilani, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mathieu Flamini, Mario Yepes and Antonio Cassano. Novara had Massimo Paci and Paolo Hernan Dellafiore out on bans, plus Carlalberto Ludi, Alex Pinardi and Andrea Lisuzzo sidelined.
After 12 minutes Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s fierce free kick from the D was beaten away by Samir Ujkani, but Robinho horribly missed the follow-up from a yard, flashing his shot across the face of goal.
Another Ibrahimovic free kick caused huge problems for Ujkani, who saw it bounce off his chest and out for a corner. From the resulting set play, Thiago Silva had a free header from six yards, but a desperate goalline clearance by Andrea Caracciolo saved Novara.
Ibra forced another unorthodox save from Ujkani, who struggled to parry a snapshot from the edge of the box.
It was turning into a siege on the Novara goal, as Antonio Nocerino spun round to skim the far post with a well-taken strike. Another goalline clearance kept out Philippe Mexes’ angled drive.
Stephan El Shaarawy came on for the second half, moving Emanuelson to left-back, but Novara had a great chance straight away with Caracciolo on the counter seeing his shot fingertipped inches past the back stick.
The ‘Little Pharaoh’ also threatened with his header off target, but Milan finally found a way through the Novara brick wall on 57 minutes.
Ibrahimovic sprung the offside trap on a smart Massimo Ambrosini chipped pass over the top and kept his cool for a stop and flick past the on-rushing Ujkani from six yards.
El Shaarawy should’ve made it 2-0, as he skipped away from his marker and the goalkeeper, but the angle was too narrow and he only hit the side-netting.
Milan did double their lead moments later, as Nocerino pulled back for El Shaarawy’s shot, which turned into an assist for Robinho to come sliding in at the back post. However, Novara were furious, as Nocerino appeared to handle in the build-up.
Ibrahimovic put the final nail in Novara’s coffin when Ujkani flapped an El Shaarawy cross and the Swede pounced, sneakily flicking it back into an empty net with his back to goal.
Milan were punished for a docile second half performance and taken into extra time by Novara before eventually winning their Coppa Italia clash.
Both sides went into the Last 16 clash in need of a good performance after respective disappointing League defeats at the weekend.
Massimiliano Allegri rang the changes after his team’s derby defeat, notably bringing in the likes of Philippe Mexes, Massimo Ambrosini, Stephan El Shaarawy and Filippo Inzaghi for starts. Alexander Merkel was also handed a first-team chance after his midweek loan return from Genoa.
Similarly, Attilio Tesser made seven changes to his line-up after their Week 18 defeat to Cesena.
Milan carved open the first opportunity of the tie after seven minutes. El Shaarawy’s quick release of the ball in the penalty area found Inzaghi, but his clever turn was followed by a tame shot.
The Rossoneri dominated possession in the early stages and it was Inzaghi who again popped up for their next two chances.
Whilst Novara’s goalkeeper Alberto Fontana was quick off his line to prevent the veteran springing the offside trap, the striker guiltily missed a headed effort at the far post moments later.
Soon after that Simone Pesce tested Marco Amelia’s alertness with a stinging effort that forced a corner.
El Shaarawy demonstrated his potential with a well-taken strike, taking possession outside the area on the left to cut in an unleash an outward curling effort low and past Fontana.
Granoche almost equalised immediately, latching on with a toe-poke to try to finish a clever passing move through Milan’s defence, but the effort was straight at Amelia.
With 10 minutes of the first half remaining, El Shaarawy almost doubled his tally on the night after latching on to a long pass down field that caught Novara’s high line of defence out. However, his cut inside and high effort was tipped over by Fontana.
A quieter second half was peppered by roving runs through Novara’s defence by both El Shaarawy and Urby Emanuelson, but on each occasion to no distinct end product. Indeed, the second 45 was characterised by the home team’s comfort in possession matched with a wastefulness in the final third.
Emanuelson forced a routine save from Fontana midway through the period after neat work down the right from substitute Alexandre Pato.
At the other end, Michel Morganella’s dangerous cross forced an improvised and careful clearance behind by Mexes.
Some skill in the middle of the pitch by El Shaarawy, followed by a run down the pitch with the ball from Robinho lifted the atmosphere heading towards the closing stages, before Pato’s subsequent effort on goal thundered over the bar by some distance.
From nothing, Radovanovic equalised with two minutes to go when his low 30-yard free-kick found its way through the Milan wall and easily past a rooted Amelia.
In his side’s immediate attacking at the other end, Luca Antonini received a nasty blow to the head from Jeda’s boot after the Novara player’s acrobatic attempt to clear a cross on the edge of the penalty area. Pato shot wide from the resulting free-kick.
Radovanovic and Robinho picked up yellow cards for clashing after the Brazilian’s challenge on the midfielder. Milan returned to dominating possession in extra time having dropped off towards the end of the original 90. Ignazio Abate’s cross was met with a close-range half-volley from Pato for the team’s first clear-cut chance, but Fontana’s outstretched hand proved enough to keep the scores level.
Minutes later though, Pato did get the better of the ‘keeper, flicking it over his run off his line to then casually volley it into an empty net. Pato, who narrowly beat the offside trap, had been put through one-on-one from Robinho’s slide-rule pass.
Robinho then almost made it three, controlling a loose ball in the box, only to see his volley shave the outside of Fontana’s right post. Pato then almost got a second with an acrobatic bicycle kick just before the end of the first half of extra time, controlling an El Shaarawy cross before swivelling on the spot and lashing just wide.
Bonera did well to block a late, point-blank effort from Jeda that would have forced the tie into penalties. It came during the final few minutes when Milan were playing with 10 men. Having used all three substitutions, Pato’s withdrawal for what looked like a slight hamstring injury left the team a man down.
Diego Milito has given Inter the Derby della Madonnina victory and put them right back in the Scudetto race!
The derby is always a huge game and rarely more than on this occasion. The Rossoneri needed a result to keep up with leaders Juventus, while the Nerazzurri could burst back into the Scudetto race with a victory. Both were on fine form, Milan unbeaten in 12 Serie A games and Inter with five wins on the bounce. Alexandre Pato was thrown into the starting XI just days after he rejected a move to PSG, while Kevin-Prince Boateng went deeper to make way for Urby Emanuelson as Alberto Aquilani, Gennaro Gattuso, Antonio Cassano, Mathieu Flamini and Taye Taiwo were out. Inter missed Dejan Stankovic and Africa Cup of Nations man Sulley Muntari, while Wesley Sneijder was back on the bench for the first time since November 2.
Thiago Motta nodded in after five minutes, but the goal was flagged offside for his two teammates Walter Samuel and Lucio.
Julio Cesar smothered a Zlatan Ibrahimovic snapshot at the near post, while Boateng’s deflected volley was followed up over the bar by Pato. The Inter goalkeeper was somewhat nervous on a Yuto Nagatomo backpass and fumbled a corner off Thiago Silva’s head.
A corner found Boateng unmarked only to balloon over the bar, but Alessandro Nesta had to intercept a smart one-two from Douglas Maicon in the box. At the other end, Samuel did the same as Pato pulled back for Emanuelson.
Ibrahimovic attempted an audacious scorpion flick with his back leg that landed on the roof of the net.
Inter had a great chance on 40 minutes, as Nagatomo’s cross found Ricky Alvarez unmarked, but the young Argentine hesitated and aimed a weak effort at the on-rushing Christian Abbiati’s legs from six yards.
Milan went even closer when Mark Van Bommel passed it on to the crossbar from the edge of the box, then as the move continued Julio Cesar turned Emanuelson’s volley off the line.
Inter broke the deadlock after the restart. Ignazio Abate’s slip allowed Javier Zanetti’s cross-field pass to reach Diego Milito, whose precise angled drive went in off the far post. El Principe found the net for the third game on the trot.
Nagatomo’s screamer from 30 metres took a deflection to whizz just past the upright, while Julio Cesar flapped an Ibra chipped pass off the head of Pato.
Robinho replaced Gianluca Zambrotta for a trident attack, moving Emanuelson to full-back, while Cristian Chivu came on for Alvarez. Sneijder also made his comeback after two and a half months.
Ibra’s pull-back was turned back across by Antonio Nocerino, but Pato’s first touch was heavy and allowed Julio Cesar to smother from point-blank range.
Clarence Seedorf also came off the bench and his blockbuster from distance that Julio Cesar flew to palm away. Robinho then burst through the Inter defence only to fire straight at the goalkeeper at the near post.
The final stages were a siege on the Nerazzurri area, but Ranieri’s men held firm.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one and created another for Kevin-Prince Boateng as Milan ended Atalanta’s unbeaten home record.
This was a Lombardy derby and a very difficult test for the Rossoneri, as Atalanta would be in sixth place without their six-point penalty. That betting scandal reared its head again over the Christmas break with ex-captain Cristiano Doni’s arrest, so the team wanted to wipe away those off the field issues. Milan had to completely revamp their midfield, as Massimo Ambrosini was suspended with Clarence Seedorf, Alberto Aquilani, Gennaro Gattuso, Mathieu Flamini, Antonio Cassano, Mario Yepes, Ignazio Abate were injured. Therefore Kevin-Prince Boateng went into a deeper midfield role with Urby Emanuelson as trequartista.
Thomas Manfredini just about did enough to stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic tapping in from close range, while German Denis fired over the bar and Simone Padoin blasted off target from an improbable angle.
There was controversy when Manfredini went diving in through the back of Alexandre Pato and Atalanta were furious, insisting the Brazilian had taken a step backwards. The referee awarded a penalty, which Ibrahimovic converted as a daisy-cutter into the near bottom corner.
Atalanta tried to fight back, but struggled to create chances, as Federico Peluso’s pass for Padoin was a touch too heavy.
Milan came so close to doubling their lead after the restart, but Pato nodded Emanuelson’s cross on to the woodwork from six yards!
Moments later, Luca Cigarini unleashed a blockbuster from distance that almost propelled Christian Abbiati back into his own net. Ibra went on the counter from that Atalanta corner, but lost it at the last second.
Atalanta also hit the frame of the goal, as a corner got a glancing touch off Simone Tiribocchi and found Denis at the back post, but he only prodded it on to the upright from less than a yard!
The Orobici were pouring forward with remarkable determination, but this left gaps at the back and Manfredini flung himself at Ibrahimovic’s shot like a human shield to force the corner.
The Rossoneri made it 2-0 with Boateng, though much of the credit goes to Ibrahimovic. The Swede chested down a long ball, got to the by-line and pulled back for Boateng to blast in off the underside of the crossbar.
Ibrahimovic was on a roll now, as he nutmegged Ferri to test Andrea Consigli at the near post, while Antonio Nocerino failed to finish off Robinho’s assist.
Alexandre Pato’s goal has given Milan victory against Paris Saint-Germain on Carlo Ancelotti’s debut, as Gennaro Gattuso also made his comeback.
The two clubs clashed in Dubai during training schedules over the winter break and all eyes were on The Duck, who has been heavily linked with a €45m move to PSG.
It was also the debut on the bench for former Milan Coach Ancelotti, who was given a nasty surprise by one of the players he brought to San Siro during his Rossoneri tenure.
It took just four minutes for Pato to break the deadlock, making the most of a splendid Zlatan Ibrahimovic assist.
The French side pushed forward, but Antonio Nocerino came closest to getting a second goal during the first half, as he rattled the woodwork after 18 minutes.
After the break Coach Massimiliano Allegri completely revamped the line-up and gave Gattuso his first appearance since September, when he was diagnosed with a rare eye condition.
Pippo Inzaghi also returned as a partner for Stephan El-Shaarawy, but Paris Saint-Germain were more effective in this half and Nene forced Christian Abbiati into two tough saves.
AC Milan First Half: Amelia; De Sciglio, Mexes, Thiago Silva, Taiwo; Aquilani, Van Bommel, Nocerino; Robinho; Ibrahimovic, Pato
