MIlan 1-0 Cagliari
Milan gained a dramatic late victory over Cagliari to move joint-top of the table with Juventus thanks to a stunning half-volley from Serginho. Coach Carlo Ancelotti made a number of changes to the side, with Giuseppe Pancaro coming in at left-back while Paolo Maldini was partnered by Jaap Stam in the centre of defence. Rui Costa and Christian Brocchi were given starts in midfield and Jon Dahl Tomasson joined Andriy Shevchenko in attack.
Milan dominated from the start and Shevchenko ran on to Rui Costa’s pass only to have his shot charged down, then Clarence Seedorf fired wide from the edge of the area. The Rossoneri, however, suffered an early set-back when Shevchenko had to leave the pitch with a head injury. The Ukrainian rose to send in a powerful header from a Cufu cross which goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo did well to save but unfortunately, the striker collided with defender Simone Loria and was replaced by Crespo. The home side kept pressing forward and Iezzo could only parry a fierce Seedorf strike and Rui Costa saw his follow-up charged down for a corner kick. Seedorf again tried his luck from distance while Cafu drove wide from a tight angle. The best chance came on 40 minutes when Pancaro swept a low ball across the face of the goal which just evaded the incoming Crespo and Tomasson.
Cagliari created an opening early in the second half when Massimo Gobbi’s low effort was deflected wide of the goal by Mauro Esposito while at the other end, Andrea Pirlo just missed the target with a curling effort. Maldini then skipped past two opponents down the left flank but when the ball came out to Rui Costa, the Portuguese star could not keep his shot down. Kaka came on for the last 20 minutes for Tomasson but Milan were soon left in ten men as Pancaro received his second yellow card for a foul on Esposito. Kaka then got a low drive away which the ’keeper saved and Rui Costa arrived at the back post only to put a downward header wide. As the game headed deep into injury time, Cafu took advantage of Francesco Pisano’s slip at the byline and floated a wonderful cross to the back post for Serginho to rasp home the winner. The Sardinian side felt that their player had been pushed and Alessandro Agostini was sent-off for
protesting.
MILAN: Dida; Cafu, Stam, Maldini, Pancaro; Brocchi (Serginho, 57'), Pirlo, Seedorf ; Rui Costa; Tomasson (Kaka, 71'), Shevchenko (Crespo, 14')
CAGLIARI: Iezzo; Lopez, Bega, Loria, Agostini; Abeijon (Suazo, 81'), Conti, Gobbi; Esposito, Zola (Del Nevo, 75'), Langella (Pisano, 89')
GOALS: 0-1, Serginho (92')
SERIE A
Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Milan 25 54
2. Juventus 25 54
3. Internazionale 25 53
4. Udinese 25 41
5. Sampdoria 24 38
Source: acmilan.it
