AC Milan vs. Sao Paulo: Rossoneri's Controlled Win Bodes Well for Season

There was the obligatory sloppiness that accompanies a preseason match, but AC Milan still flashed their promise for the upcoming season with a 1-0 win over Sao Paulo on Thursday at the Allianz Arena.

The win handed Milan third place in the Audi Cup. It was also a refreshing turnaround from where the Rossoneri were partway through the first half of their match on Wednesday against Manchester City, when they found themselves unable to stop anything and trailed 5-0 early.

With the likes of City's David Silva and Edin Dzeko running circles around Milan, that contest looked like a complete mismatch. However, Milan steadied and closed three goals before the end of the first half. The two then embarked on a scoreless second half.

The momentum gained at the end of that first half was telling. City entered that game further along in their preparations and putting a stronger squad on the pitch. Yet, as the match went on, Milan began to round into form. Of course, there was also the fact that City began to lose a bit of interest, but Milan had to play better to avoid a complete debacle. 

They continued to find their form on Thursday.

Milan dictated the flow for the majority of this match. Sao Paulo were content to keep numbers at the back and Milan had a hard time finding good opportunities. Some sloppy crosses undid several quality chances. 

This led to a fairly calm and uneventful first half. 

It was only eight minutes into the second half when substitute Kingsley Boateng took a long pass from the back, moved past a defender and slipped in the match's only goal.

While Milan have a lot of work to do to solidify the attack, there are still some positives to take away from this match. The biggest has to be the play of Marco Amelia. To say he had not been in good form heading into this contest would be an understatement: 

Amelia had a couple of nice saves in this match while earning the clean sheet, and let's face it, any save is a good save for Amelia at this point. 

Another promising sign was the play of Stephan El Shaarawy. This is an important summer for El Shaarawy after he slumped at the end of last season. 

He played well against City, and he was active and sharp again on Thursday, proving he is ready to get back to playing quality soccer. 

So, while Milan showed they still have a ways to go to get ready for the season, they also offered up plenty of reasons for fans to be optimistic that they are well on their way toward coming together.