pressure on AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, as they
beat 10-man Sassuolo 2-1 in Serie A.
Luiz Adriano's late header salvaged a vital Serie A victory for
AC Milan as Sinisa Mihajlovic's men overcame 10-man
Sassuolo 2-1 at San Siro.
The pressure has mounted on Milan coach Mihajlovic over
recent weeks, with his side having only won three of their
opening eight league fixtures prior to Sunday's game.
That poor form looked set to continue when Domenico Berardi's
outstanding free-kick levelled proceedings shortly after the
interval, with Carlos Bacca's penalty having given Milan the
lead on the half-hour mark.
It was a controversial opener as Bacca in winning the spot-kick
appeared to dive at the feet of Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea
Consigli, who received a red card for his troubles.
And, after missing a hosts of chances, Milan finally made their
numerical advantage count in the 86th minute, with substitute
Adriano the hero as he nodded home to secure a first win in
three Serie A games.
Mihajlovic made a number of changes to his Milan side that
drew 1-1 with Torino last time out, the most notable being
handing a start to 16-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi
Donnarumma.
It was another of those changes, Bacca, who should have got
through on goal in the game's first chance of note, but a heavy
touch from the Colombian allowed Paolo Cannavaro to
intercept.
Cannavaro almost turned from hero to villain for the visitors a
few moments later, his header falling straight to
Giacomo Bonaventura, whose venomous volley rippled the side-
netting.
Milan were rewarded for their promising play just prior to the
half-hour mark, referee Gianluca Rocchi awarding the hosts a
penalty after he deemed that Bacca had been fouled by Consigli,
who was dismissed despite his pleas of innocence.
And Bacca made no mistake from the resulting spot-kick, with
substitute stopper Gianluca Pegolo unable to prevent the strike
from nestling into the left-corner.
Despite a bright start to the second half from
Milan, Sassuolo drew level when Berardi curled a sublime free-
kick into the top-left corner from 35 yards out, leaving
Donnarumma helpless.
Mihajlovic introduced Luiz Adriano on the hour mark, and the
Brazil striker almost made an immediate impact, linking up with
Alessio Cerci, who slipped in Bacca, whose shot was smothered
by Pegolo.
Cerci was the architect again a few moments after, his drilled
cross resulting in a goal-mouth scramble, but Francesco Acerbi
managed to scrape it clear after blocking Adriano's effort.
All hope of a victory appeared lost for Milan after Luca Antonelli
blasted over from close range, but Adriano was on hand to
spare Mihajlovic's blushes as he headed in at the back post
from Cerci's corner.
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