After suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Parma last time out, Milan knew they had a great chance to bounce back against a desperately out-of-form Cremonese side. That said, the hosts may have been relishing the chance to do battle with the Rossoneri after pulling off a famous 2-1 victory in August’s reverse fixture.
Federico Bonazzoli, who netted the winner at the San Siro, threatened to score another against Massimiliano Allegri’s side, getting across his marker to send his first-time shot agonisingly wide from Giuseppe Pezzella’s whipped cross.
Not long after surviving that scare, the visitors should have taken the lead through star attacker Rafael Leao, who dragged his shot wide when it seemed easier to roll the ball into the corner from a glorious one-on-one opportunity.
Cremonese then had Emil Audero to thank for ensuring the scoreline remained goalless at the break, after the goalkeeper reacted smartly to thwart Christian Pulisic and Fofana on the stroke of half-time.
Milan’s struggles in the final third continued after the restart as Leao, with only the goalkeeper to beat, lifted his close-range effort harmlessly over the bar after teed up by Adrien Rabiot’s squared pass.
Leao’s confidence in front of goal took another hit when he showed great determination to burst through the middle of the Cremonese backline, only to send a tame shot into Audero’s grateful grasp.
Hopes of a winner appeared to be drifting away as the clock ticked towards the end of regulation time. However, just as Milan looked set to experience a frustrating result, Strahinja Pavlovic found the long-awaited breakthrough in the 90th minute, diverting the ball in after Koni De Winter had flicked on Luka Modric’s inswinging cross from a short corner.
Leao then put all the disappointment from his previous misses to bed when he stroked the ball home into the empty net from Christopher Nkunku’s squared pass.
That sealed Milan’s first H2H win in 30 years and extended the hosts’ winless run to 13 league matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Strahinja Pavlovic (AC Milan)