Ac milan vs Chievo 3-0

AC Milan moved to the top of Serie A thanks to a 3-1 win over Chievo this evening, but they were made to work hard for all three points.

Milan: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Nesta, Thiago Silva (Bonera 63), Antonini; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf (Boateng 78); Ronaldinho; Pato (Robinho 69), Ibrahimovic

Chievo: Sorrentino; Frey, Andreolli, Cesar, Mantovani; Bentivoglio (Gelson Fernandes 46), Rigoni, Constant; Bogliacino (Moscardelli 80); Pellissier, Granoche (Thereau 46

Alexandre Pato scored twice against the run of play in the first half to set the Rossoneri on their way to the top.

VIDEO Ac milan vs Chievo 3-0


An own goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 71st minute gave Chievo hope, but Robinho ended their dreams in stoppage time with his first goal for Milan sending them above Lazio into first place.

Chievo made it clear they were not just making up the numbers as they made a bold start to the game with Kevin Constant, a surprise inclusion in their midfield, particularly lively.

They did most of the attacking from start to finish, but fell behind to Milan's first counter attack in the 16th minute.

Clarence Seedorf started the attack from deep in his own half and he sent Luca Antonini forward down the left.

The Milan full-back passed the ball wide to Ibrahimovic, who picked out Pato at the far post and the Brazilian volleyed the ball back across Stefano Sorrentino into the opposite corner of his goal.

Pablo Granoche should have done better with a header from eight yards after being found by Constant's cross in the 24th minute before an excellent team move in the 28th minute culminated in Constant shooting straight at Abbiati, who made an instinctive save to deny him.

The ball fell back to Constant, who was denied again by the Milan goalkeeper.

Chievo were continuing to pose the greater threat, but a quick free-kick from Ibrahimovic sent Pato through to double Milan's lead against the run of play on the half-hour mark.

Sorrentino then denied Pato a hat-trick with a good save on the stroke of half time.

Chievo continued to believe in their chances of getting back into the game and substitute Cyril Thereau tested Abbiati with a curling 30-yard shot which was tipped over the crossbar.

They finally got the goal they deserved in the 71st minute when Sergio Pellissier flicked a corner on with his head and the ball took a deflection off Ibrahimovic's shoulder to divert into the top corner of the goal.

Gelson Fernandes nearly levelled three minutes later with a shot wide of the post from the edge of the penalty area, but the Flying Donkeys ran out of steam.

Robinho pounced with the Chievo defence stretched to round Sorrentino and stroke the ball in for his first goal for the Rossoneri in stoppage time to seal the 3-1 victory.

Milan 3 Atalanta 1,PATO PATO BORRIELLO

Milan: Abbiati; Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski; Beckham, Pirlo, Ambrosini (Gattuso 66); Pato (Abate 80), Borriello (Huntelaar 74), Ronaldinho

Atalanta: Consigli; Garics, Bianco, Manfredini, Bellini; Ferreira Pinto (Ceravolo 42), De Ascentis (Volpi 67), Padoin, Valdes; Doni; Tiribocchi (Chevanton 76

An injury to Pato took the gloss off AC Milan's 3-1 victory over Atalanta with the Brazilian striker now facing an anxious race against time to be fit for the Champions League return leg against Manchester United.

Pato scores the first of his two goals but a thigh injury took the gloss off Milan's win over Atalanta

The forward produced a neat turn and finish on the half hour before converting Ronaldinho's pass 11 minutes later. Jaime Valdes netted for the visitors after the interval but Marco Borriello was quick to restore Milan's two-goal advantage after Ronaldinho's penalty was saved.

"We will have to wait 24 to 48 hours before knowing the extent of the injury,'' said Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani after the game. Milan must overturn a 3-2 deficit if they are to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

"Not to have Pato would be terrible,'' said Galliani. "We don't have anyone who can replace him. Without him, we would need to change our tactical set-up.''

Seria A 2009/2010: Siena 1- Milan 2

At the Stadio Artemio Franchi of Siena it finished Siena-Milan 1-2. After Pato's goal in the 29th minute and Ghezzal's in the 34th, Pato again scored his first brace of the season in the 48th minute and allowed Milan to win.
SIENA-MILAN: OFFICIAL FORMATIONS
SIENA: Curci; Rossettini, Ficagna, Brandao, Del Grosso; Jarolim, Vergassola, Codrea, Fini; Ghezzal, Maccarone.
MILAN: Storari; Zambrotta, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Jankulovski; Gattuso, Pirlo, Flamini; Ronaldinho; Borriello, Pato.

Brazil striker Alexandre Pato scored twice after great work from Ronaldinho to give AC Milan a battling 2-1 win at Siena in their Serie A opener on Saturday.

The visitors, patchy in pre-season under new rookie coach Leonardo, went ahead on 29 minutes when Pato coolly slotted home after compatriot Ronaldinho's clever pass.

Abdelkader Ghezzal equalised for the hosts five minutes later when Milan's stand-in goalkeeper Marco Storari could only parry a shot into his path.

However, Milan quickly regained the initiative in the second half when another delightful Ronaldinho ball allowed Mathieu Flamini to give Pato an easy tap-in.

Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu shrugged off worries about his preparedness by coming off the bench to salvage a 1-1 draw at Bologna in the opening game of the Serie A season on Saturday.

The Romanian striker is still coming to terms with a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) verdict ordering him to pay former club Chelsea $24.5 million in damages after a positive test for cocaine while at the English side five years ago.

Mutu started as a substitute with coach Cesare Prandelli keen to limit the pressure on him but he rifled home the equaliser from just inside the area after 64 minutes having entered the fray at halftime.

Former Fiorentina forward Pablo Osvaldo had put the hosts in front midway through the first half when he headed in a corner from close range.

Fiorentina, who host Sporting in their Champions League playoff second leg on Wednesday with the score at 2-2, had chances to win but striker Alberto Gilardino was twice denied.