(Reuters) – AC Milan overcame a glut of suspensions and injuries to win 1-0 at Chievo on
Tuesday to pull themselves out of the doldrums after a miserable eight days and put the pressure back on Juventus in the
Serie A title race.
Sulley Muntari celebrates after scoring against Cesena during their Italian Serie A soccer match at the Dino Manuzzi stadium
in Cesena February 19, 2012. REUTERS/ Giorgio Benvenuti
Ghana forward Sulley Muntari rifled in a 30-metre shot
early in the game as Milan bounced back from their shock 2-1 home defeat by Fiorentina on Saturday and their Champions League
exit at the hands of Barcelona a week ago.
Tough-tackling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso started his first match since
September, when he suffered a serious eye condition which led to speculation that he may have to end his career.
Milan
showed their gritty side as they ground out a win on a wet night in Verona, their attitude symbolised by defender Mario Yepes
who insisted on continuing with an injury which left his nose splattered in blood in stoppage time.
The Fiorentina
defeat had cost Milan the Serie A lead but Tuesday’s win took the Serie A champions back to the top, at least until Juventus
host Lazio on Wednesday.
Milan have 67 points from 32 games while Juve have 65 from 31.
“The criticism was
excessive after our defeat,” coach Massimiliano Allegri said in the post-match television interview.
“Even though we
were still alive and kicking in the title race, they were already preparing our funeral.
“We knew that if we did not
win here we could have been definitively out of the race for the scudetto. We haven’t played well but this showed that this
squad is not just about technique.”
Milan had Massimo Ambrosini, Alberto Aquilani and Daniele Bonera suspended while
Urby Emanuelson and Philippe Mexes were only considered fit for the bench.
Mark van Bommel, Ignazio Abate, Luca
Antonini, Thiago Silva, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alexandre Pato and Djamel Mesbah were ruled out altogether.
Fortunately,
they got the perfect start when Muntari scored with a characteristic long-range drive.
Both teams had chances before
halftime, Robinho coming the closest for Milan when his shot was turned away for a corner by Stefano Sorrentino. Alberto
Paloschi had the ball in the net for Chievo but it was disallowed for offside.
Milan had the game more under control
in the second half as leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic finally began to see some of the ball, however it was anything but a
vintage performance.