Milan hand Auxerre 2–0 defeat
Italian giants AC Milan claimed their first European victory in six games against Auxerre as new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two goals for his new club.
The 2–0 victory was not resounding, but it was enough for coach Massimiliano Allegri to silence those who have expressed doubts about his side's ability following their defeat to Cesena over the weekend.
Milan took over an hour to break the deadlock at the San Siro, but once they did, the victory was never in doubt.
"It was great to score, but it was important to win," Ibrahimovic told Sky Sport Italia after the match. "The first half was poor from us but we were much better in the second. I am very happy as everything went well in the end."
Auxerre got most of the early chances
But before the Swede could make his mark on the game, it was the French side who came closest to scoring. In the 22nd minute, Adama Coulibaly beat Alessandro Nesta to head the ball against the bar. And with 39 minutes played, Auxerre surged forward in a
rare break, but instead of playing the ball to his open team mates, Steven Langil opted to finish himself, firing the ball high over Christian Abbiati's goal.
Milan struggled to create any openings until Ronaldinho Gaucho took matters into his own hands in the second half. The 30-year-old entertainer sent a perfectly measured through ball towards substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng after 66 minutes. Boateng saw Ibrahimovic
approaching in the box and got a gentle but crucial touch to the ball, nodding into the path of his team mate. Ibrahimovic reacted quickly, beating keeper Olivier Sorin to the ball to claim his first goal for Milan.
With Auxerre pressing to draw level, Milan did what Italian teams do best: counter attack. Only three minutes after taking the lead, Allegri's team found the net again.
Once again, Ronaldinho was the architect, as the forward burst into Auxerre's half with Ibrahimovic to his left. The Brazilian waited until exactly the right moment to play his team mate in, and the Swede's first-time finish was just out of Sorin's reach.
By way of deft flicks and first-time through balls, Ronaldinho continued to pull all the strings in Milan's attack. Substitute Robinho could have got on the score sheet, but failed to connect when served a play on a platter by his Brazilian team mate.
Milan's victory should give Allegri some breathing space before the team face Catania on Saturday, where nothing other than a victory will count.
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