Milan bounced back from their derby day collapse against rivals Inter with a 1-0 win over Torino at San Siro on Monday night, Ante Rebic’s sixth goal in seven games proving decisive.
Milan had surrendered a 2-0 lead against their arch-rivals in their most recent Serie A outing, slipping to a 4-2 defeat to end their run of seven games without a loss in all competitions.
However, they recovered admirably, and Monday’s victory lifts them into the top half of the table and into eighth, with 10 points separating them from Atalanta in the final Champions League spot, but now just four points between themselves and Roma in fifth.
It’s now nine home games unbeaten for Milan – the best run they have had on home turf in over three years.
Milan started brightly, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had the ball in net in the 20th minute following a flowing Milan move, but his goal was chalked off for offside.
Milan did take the lead five minutes later through a well-taken Ante Rebic finish. Torino were adamant that they should have been given a foul in the build-up, as Samu Castillejo won the ball off Alex Berenguer inside the Torino half.
However, the referee waved away the visitor’s protests, and Cetillejo picked out Rebic inside the penalty area, who found the bottom corner with a calm, first-time finish.
Milan could have doubled their lead three minutes into the second half, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic curled a wonderful opportunity just wide.
Torino came back at Milan in the second half, but the hosts dug in and held on for a hard fought victory. Despite the visitor’s pressure in the second half, Gianluigi Donnarumma enjoyed a relatively comfortable night between the sticks.
Milan face a trip to Fiorentina in their next league outing on Saturday, a side they lost 3-1 to at the beginning of the season but now sit five places abov in Serie A.