AC Milan claim edgy win at Verona to move into second in Serie A

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]Milan[/a] started sluggishly against struggling [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/verona/rJVAIaHo/"]Verona[/a], looking like a team still reeling from three defeats in their last four matches, including a demoralising 3-0 loss at home to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/udinese/rXw8YKDE/"]Udinese[/a] last time out.[/p][p]Rossoneri supporters had to wait until the 32nd minute for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rabiot-adrien/l08EAP2Q/"]Adrien Rabiot[/a] to finally register the game’s first shot on target, driving a rather tame effort straight at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/montipo-lorenzo/WhLULVuN/"]Lorenzo Montipò[/a].[/p][p]To the visitors’ delight, Rabiot produced something far more clinical when another opportunity arose in the closing stages of the first period.[/p][p][b]Starting his run from deep, the experienced midfielder raced onto [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leao-rafael/AqOPWN5s/"]Rafael Leão[/a]’s perfectly weighted through ball and calmly slotted beyond the onrushing goalkeeper.[/b][/p][embed guid="e5f5b144-fb09-431e-9f0f-ce5cc71cd14c" url="https://x.com/SerieA_EN/status/2045861705004077436" social-type="twitter" /][p]Massimiliano Allegri’s charges still required the reliable [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maignan-mike/S6gN2QNC/"]Mike Maignan[/a] to make a crucial intervention to leave Gialloblù trailing at the break, with the goalkeeper reacting well to thwart [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/belghali-rafik/v3TEsxcK/"]Rafik Belghali[/a] in a dangerous one-on-one situation.[/p][p]With a deficit to overcome, Verona interim boss [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sammarco-paolo/4hoV7Fy0/"]Paolo Sammarco[/a] was left with an unenviable half-time team talk, knowing his team needed to stage a dramatic turnaround to boost their distant survival hopes.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vermesan-ioan/xpz5QLfl/"]Ioan Vermeșan[/a] threatened to make an impact after being introduced at the interval, going close with two ambitious strikes from distance, the first of which forced Maignan into a low stop before his second whistled just wide of the far post. [/p][p]As the contest entered the final 20 minutes, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gabbia-matteo/Sl6O3rbN/"]Matteo Gabbia[/a] thought he had ended Verona’s hopes of a positive result when he headed in from close range, only to be denied by the assistant’s raised flag.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="35fe64c4-248d-446d-88fc-4091111f1859" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="cb12dac8-d857-4efa-8243-6655b7a77eb8" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saelemaekers-alexis/n5cPVwks/"]Alexis Saelemaekers[/a] then had a late effort dramatically cleared off the line, but fortunately for Milan, the insurance of a second goal was not required to clinch an 11th consecutive H2H victory, strengthening their position inside the top four.[/p][p]At the opposite end of the table, the Gialloblù are left propping up the table and a mammoth 10 points adrift from safety with just five games left to play.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rabiot-adrien/l08EAP2Q/"]Adrien Rabiot[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]AC Milan[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ac-milan-8Sa8HInO/verona-rJVAIaHo/summary/stats/?mid=EFbK9cpn"]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p]