Milan off to a winning start

Milan off to a winning start

Leonardo made a winning start to his reign as AC Milan coach with a narrow 2-1 Serie A victory at Siena.

Ronaldinho produced one of his best performances since joining the club over a year ago to set up the win as the Rossoneri suggested their errant pre-season form may not be a true reflection of their chances of glory this term.

The Brazilian had a goal disallowed, and he set up both goals for his compatriot Alexandre Pato in the 29th and 48th minutes.

Abdelkader Ghezzal brought Siena level in the 34th minute, but they had to accept defeat to the better team at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Milan won just one match in pre-season and that came against local amateur side Varese after just five days of training back in July.

Since then, they have been beaten by city rivals Inter Milan, Chelsea, Club America, Bayern Munich and Juventus while they could only manage a draw with Los Angeles Galaxy and Boca Juniors.

But Leonardo's side timed it just right to hit form on the opening day of the Serie A season.

Ronaldinho was a disappointment for much of his first year in Italy after joining from Barcelona, but he pulled off a fine display tonight to inspire Milan to victory.

He cushioned a ball through perfectly for Marek Jankulovski to break through in the 19th minute, but Gianluca Curci raced from his line and blocked the full-back's shot.

Ronaldinho then found the back of the net with a direct free-kick from the left wing in the 22nd minute, but both Pato and Thiago Silva had drifted into offside positions and were interfering with play as the ball went in so the goal was ruled out.

It did not take too long before Milan were level and it was Ronaldinho's well-timed ball which sent Pato through to score.

Curci got a hand to his shot, but could not divert it beyond the corner of his goal.

Siena equalised against the run of play in the 34th minute with Ghezzal pouncing at the far post to hit a shot into the roof of the net after Marco Storari could only parry Lukas Jarolim's angled shot.

The match was not level for long, though, as Pato restored Milan's lead three minutes into the second half - and again Ronaldinho was involved in the build-up.

He played a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Mathieu Flamini, whose low cross provided Pato with an easy tap-in from underneath the crossbar.

Massimo Maccarone, who had come through the Milan youth system before moving to England, could have equalised for the second time in the 57th minute when he beat the offside trap, but he volleyed across the face of goal.

Ronaldinho then tested Curci with an overhead-kick from 10 yards which the Siena goalkeeper had to tip over the crossbar. He then sent in yet another perfect pass for Pato, who was this time unable to provide the finish as he could only find the side-netting in the 86th minute.

But it did not matter as Pato's two goals were enough to seal Leonardo a win on his league debut at the Rossoneri helm.