Italian Serie A: AC Milan vs. Lazio Recap

It was building up to be a big start to the 2011-2012 Italian Serie A, and although AC Milan and Lazio shared the spoils, the match was anything but dull. A four goal draw, with real quality at either ends will see both Italian clubs temporarily sitting atop the Italian Serie A, with the remainder of games to follow over the weekend.

AC Milan lined up as follows (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Gattuso, Ambrosini, Aquilani; Boateng; Cassano, Ibrahimovic, with new signing Alberto Aquilani starting for his new club.

Lazio looked ominous upfront with Hernanes sitting in behind their two new signings Klose and Cisse  (4-2-2-2): Bizzarri; Konko, Biava, Dias, Zauri; Ledesma, Brocchi; Mauri, Hernanes, Cisse; Klose.

The first 45 minutes of the match were all that was needed to settle it.

Right from the onset Alberto Aquilani was let through on goal, after a sublime ball from by Ibrahimovic. However, too many touches saw Bizzarri make a brilliant save straight from the feet of the Italian.

AC Milan were made to pay for it just minutes later. A stunning ball in from Mauri was picked up by Klose, whose amazing first touch made Nest look useless as he slotted the ball in past Abbiati. Lazio were 1-0 up after 12 minutes.

The home side was overwhelmed by the way in which Lazio had come out to play. With passes going astray and attacks not looking dangerous, Milan were certainly looking the worse for wear.

They were made to pay once again, when in 20th minute another perfectly weighted ball from Stefano Mauro found an acrobatic Djibril Cisse. The French International out-leaped the Milan defence to direct a powerful header away and into the net, leaving Abbiati frozen to the spot.

Milan were clearly taken aback by the two-goal margin, and just eight minutes later responded with a "Barcelona style" goal, helped with a bit of poor defending from Andres Dias. After some short passes on the edge of the area, Cassano played a ball to Aquilani who lobbed the ball over the defensive line straight to Cassano, who then squared the ball right for Ibrahimovic to tap in. 2-1 after 29 minutes.

Liverpool reject Alberto Aquilani was seemingly at it again for Milan, proving to be the mastermind behind their second goal and the fourth of the match. This time, the Italian central midfielder whipped in a ball from a corner. The ball somehow found Antonio Cassano, and all that was left was for the Italian "bad boy" to direct the ball past Bizzarri. He did so with precision, and in the 33rd minute the match was locked up at 2-2.

The San Siro had erupted with Milan fans cheering and chanting, trying to push their side for another score. As half time came along, Lazio knew that after the second goal they had become complacent, in essence inviting AC Milan back into the match. Understandably, Edoardo Reja was not impressed.

Unfortunately, the second half was outplayed by the first. Throughout the second half, AC Milan introduced Alexandre Pato, new signing Nocerino and Mark van Bommel (who was apparently not going to feature). Lazio also introduced some new talent, but as the scoreline would suggest it was to hold up play in the midfield. They introduced Matuzalem, Gonzalez and Lulic.

By the end of proceedings, the closest any side had come to scoring in the second half was a shot that hit the post from Cassano. In actuality it was quite a poor second half display, scrappy at best. Four yellow cards were handed out. Even with the fans in full voice, Milan could not push forward.

When Ibrahimovic was let through in the last minute, San Siro rose to their feet, but to no avail. Biazzari with another superb save to deny the champions. Lazio will be happy with the draw, but considering how they came out in the first half, perhaps a win was in the cards. Milan improved after being shell-shocked, and deserved what points they took from the match.

Both sides will be pleased with the performances of their new signings.

FINAL SCORE: AC MILAN 2:2 LAZIO