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Milan survived a late uprising from their rivals Atalanta, after securing a thrilling 3-2 victory on Sunday at the "Giuseppe Meazza" stadium, as part of the seventh round of the Italian Football League.
Milan imposed their dominance during the first half, which they finished leading by two unanswered goals, taking advantage of the opportunities that were available to them in front of Atalanta's goal, to put their guest under early pressure.
Portuguese Gonzalo Ramos opened the scoring for Milan in the 24th minute from a penalty kick, awarded following a handball by Slovenian Relja Obrić, before Frenchman Adrien Rabiot doubled the score in the 43rd minute with a shot from inside the penalty area.
In the second half, Milan extended their lead with a third goal in the 57th minute through Spaniard Mario Gila Fuentes, appearing to be on their way to easily clinching the match, before Atalanta rose up and brought excitement back to the encounter.
Gianluca Gaetano narrowed the gap for Atalanta in the 66th minute, before Montenegrin Nikola Krstović added the second goal in the 81st minute, heating up the match in its final minutes.
Atalanta almost equalized just two minutes later, but French goalkeeper Mike Maignan excelled in blocking the attempt by substitute Davide Zappacosta, to maintain the hosts' lead.
Atalanta's pressure continued during the final minutes and stoppage time, but Milan held firm against their guest's attempts, maintaining their lead and collecting three valuable points.
With this win, Milan raised their tally to 15 points, moving up to fourth place, 4 points behind leaders Inter Milan, while Atalanta's tally remained at 9 points in tenth place.
In other matches, Como, led by their Spanish coach Cesc Fàbregas, defeated their hosts Fiorentina 3-1, and Lecce won away from home against Udinese 3-0.
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