Italy

Siena 1-2 Milan: Pato Bags Brace As Rossoneri Make Positive Start

Milan kick-started their season with a fine 2-1 away win against Siena courtesy of an Alexandre Pato brace.

Aug 22, 2009 5:39:47 PM

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Alexandre Pato - Milan (Grazia Neri)

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Milan kicked off their season with a tricky away match against Siena at the Artemio Franchi stadium. Leonardo’s team made a solid start to their Serie A campaign, earning a deserved 2-1 win thanks to a brace from starlet Alexandre Pato, with Ronaldinho playing a major role in both goals.

The first chance came at the 10-minute mark, when Pato volleyed the ball and it was deflected dangerously by Jardim Brandao for a corner kick.

The visitors were the only team creating chances in the early stages, and in the 19th minute Marek Jankulovski and Ronaldinho played a nice one-two, but when the ball came back to him the Milan defender was unable to get it past goalkeeper Gianluca Curci, who made a good save.

Three minutes later, Ronaldinho had the ball in the net with a direct free-kick, but the linesman raised his flag because Pato was in an offside position in front of Curci.

Milan deservedly opened the score in the 29th minute, when Ronaldinho played in a great ball to Pato, who slid the ball confidently past Curci with a shot from inside the area.

The Rossoneri’s lead didn’t last long, however, as just four minutes later Abdel Ghezzal fired the ball home from close range after goalkeeper Marco Storari failed to hold on to a shot by Lukas Jarolim.

Following this quick equalizer from Siena, not much happened in the remainder of the first half, which ended on a 1-1 deadlock.

During the break neither coach opted to make any changes. Just three minutes into the second half, Milan regained their lead thanks to another inspired moment by Ronaldinho, as he found Mathieu Flamini inside the area with a fine pass, and the Frenchman squared it to Pato, who bagged his brace with an easy finish.

Just before the hour mark, Siena had their first chance in a while, as Massimo Maccarone latched on to a pass from Simone Vergassola and fired a shot on goal from a diagonal position, but it went just wide.

In the 68th minute, the outstanding Ronaldinho fired an audacious overhead kick on a corner kick, forcing Curci to tip the ball over the bar.

With around 15 minutes to go, the home side started to push for an equalizer, winning a series of corners. On one of them, defender Daniele Ficagna executed a dangerous header which was tipped over the crossbar by Storari in the 77th minute.

Milan managed to control the match in the final stages, with the central defensive duo of Thiago Silva and Alessandro Nesta looking confident at all times. In the 86th minute, the Rossoneri had a chance to make it three, and Pato to get his hat-trick, as the ‘Duck’ was sent clear through on goal by Ronaldinho, but the young striker’s shot hit the side netting.

That was the last chance of the match, which ended on a deserved 2-1 score for Milan, who made a surprisingly good start, considering all the pessimism that accompanied them from their poor pre-season performances.

Danilo Pochini, Goal.com

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