AC Milan on Tuesday continued their unbeaten run since the resumption of Serie A as they defeated Sassuolo 2-1 away from home to still remain in contention for the fourth spot.
Swedish veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star of the night as he netted both the goals, while Francesco Caputo had scored one back for the hosts from the 12 yards spot
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The Rossoneri entered Tuesday’s game on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run but were dealt a blow just 11 minutes into the game whe Andrea Conti limped off, making way for Davide Calabria.
But Milan broke the deadlock soon after when Ibrahimovic sent his diving header off Hakan Calhanoglu’s floated delivery past the Sassuolo keeper into the back of the net in the 19th minute.
Just when Milan thought they had earned back the control of the back after taking, they were hit with another injury blow. Captain Alessio Romagnoli suffered and Stefano Pioli was forced to replace him with starlet Matteo Gabia.
The home side got back on level terms in the 41st minute when Calhanoglu’s arm blocked a free kick in the box, with Caputo stepping up to convert the resultant penalty.
The Rossoneri restored their lead in first-half stoppage time as Calhanoglu atoned for his error by laying on another smart pass for Ibrahimovic to complete his brace.
Sassuolo went down to 10 men shortly afterwards as Mehdi Bourabia was sent off for his second bookable offence.
The victory temporarily lifts Milan up to fifth place with 59 points.
In Tuesday’s other Serie A match, Atalanta beat Bologna 1-0 with Luis Muriel coming off the bench to score the winner.
With IANS inputs
