Mario Balotelli came off the bench to help fire 10-man Milan to a hard-fought 2-0 win at Genoa last night, strengthening their grip on third place in Serie A ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona.
Balotelli netted the decisive second goal on the hour after replacing the injured Giampaolo Pazzini, who scored Milan’s 22nd-minute opener only to be substituted three minutes later.
Milan had enjoyed the better share of possession in the first half and deservedly took the lead when a cross by Mattia De Sciglio wasn’t cleared properly by Daniele Portanova, and Pazzini was there on the edge of the area to smash a shot in off the underside of the crossbar.
For all their possession and set-piece opportunities, Davide Ballardini’s team couldn’t level matters. Marco Borriello, facing his former team-mates, fired over from inside the area, but that was about as close as they came to an equaliser.
The home side were made to pay for their profligacy as Milan netted the killer goal midway through the second half.
A Stephan El Shaarawy corner found Cristian Zapata, who flicked it towards Balotelli, and the 22-year-old calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Sebastian Frey from...
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