AC Milan secured a 1-0 win over Sampdoria on Sunday night as Cristian Brocchi got off to a winning start as Rossoneri coach.
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It was a hard-fought win for the visitors in a game played at a high tempo and with great intensity throughout, and in turn it will be a welcome boost for them that they were able to grind out a win.
Brocchi switched from the 4-4-2 deployed under former boss Sinisa Mihajlovic to a 4-3-1-2 system, but it didn’t appear to make too much of a difference to Milan’s overall performance bar a couple of impressive examples of build-up play.
Milan were wasteful at times and lacked inventiveness and composure in midfield, and in turn risked suffering another disappointing result after going five games without a win prior to kick off.
However, they were able to seal all three points with Carlos Bacca atoning for wasting some earlier chances with a drilled finish after some impressive play from Giacomo Bonaventura.
Mario Balotelli also deserves a mention, particularly given that the Italian forward battled hard for his teammates off the ball, while he added a bit of quality to Milan’s play with the ball at his feet despite a string of free-kicks being sent over the bar.
The Rossoneri remain in sixth place in the Serie A table after the win, but have now opened up a four-point gap over Sassuolo and Lazio.