AC Milan beat US Citta di Palermo 3-2 for only their second win of the season as the visiting side missed the chance to move provisionally top of Serie A on Saturday.
New signing Carlos Bacca scored twice, including the winner. Giacomo Bonaventura scored Milan’s other goal, with a stunning free-kick.
Palermo twice leveled through Sweden international Oscar Hiljemark.
Photo: Reuters
Palermo coach Giuseppe Iachini was sent to the stands shortly before half-time for dissent, as was his assistant Giuseppe Carillo after Bacca’s 75th-minute winner.
“I asked for an explanation for the referee blowing for the free-kick which Bonaventura scored from, without any argument,” Iachini said. “I wanted to point out that the decisions weren’t always consistent, but maybe we didn’t understand each other.”
Mario Balotelli made his second substitute appearance since rejoining Milan from Liverpool on loan, but failed to have an impact.
Palermo lost their unbeaten record and remained two points behind leaders Inter, who were due to visit second-placed AC Chievo Verona yesterday. Milan moved to within three points of Inter.
“I’m happy with the result and in part for the performance, but every time we go ahead we seem to be scared of wining,” Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said. “We conceded two daft goals, but I think this is a different Milan in comparison to the first two league games.”
Earlier, Empoli recorded their first victory of the season, coming from behind to win 2-1 at 10-man Udinese.
AC Milan were languishing in mid-table, but had impressed in last weekend’s derby defeat against Inter.
They almost took the lead early when Luiz Adriano burst down the right and crossed toward Bacca. Aljaz Struna nearly put the ball into his own net, but the ball came off goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino’s knee.
Milan defender Ignazio Abate picked up an early injury and, although he tried to play on, had to be replaced by teenager Davide Calabria in the 18th minute.
Calabria had an immediate impact as — two minutes later — he sprinted down the right flank and put in a cross which Bonaventura managed to back-heel to Bacca and the Colombia forward fired into the roof of the net.
Palermo leveled 10 minutes later through Hiljemark’s header after Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez completely misjudged a corner.
Bonaventura restored Milan’s lead five minutes from half-time, earning a free-kick and curling a shot into the left side of the goal.
Palermo’s first goal had been a surprise, but their second was deserved after a fine spell of pressure and it was Hiljemark again, springing the offside trap to race through one-on-one with Lopez and firing into the back of the net in the 72nd minute.
However, Milan were back in front almost immediately through Bacca’s powerful header from Juraj Kucka’s cross.
It was Bacca’s third goal in four Serie A matches, coming from his first five shots on target.
In Udine, Massimo Maccarone scored in stoppage-time after controlling a great pass from Riccardo Saponara.
Duvan Zapata had given Udinese the lead in the 19th minute with his first goal for the club, heading in Antonio di Natale’s cross from near the left corner flag.
The match turned on its head in the 72nd minute when Udinese midfielder Panagiotis Kone was sent off for a second yellow card. Empoli leveled less than a minute later, Leandro Paredes side-footing the ball through a sea of legs into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
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