AC MILAN v ROMA: A PREVIOUS MEETING

This really is a fixture with a rich history to kick off the new year. AC Milan v Roma is a clash of to heavyweights in Italian football and is a fixture that, in recent years, has thrown up plenty of excitement and goals. Let's take a trip down memory lane to rediscover a game played almost 26 years ago, which helped the Rossoneri on the way to their 15th Scudetto: 3-1 on 6 February 1996.

SETTING THE SCENE
The summer of 1995 saw many new faces arrive at the Club. After the retirement of Marco Van Basten, AC Milan responded by bringing in Roberto Baggio and George Weah. The was then followed up by the arrival of three promising young talents in Ambrosini, Locatelli and Vieira. Capello's side had a lot of hunger to make amends for the season prior; the Rossoneri got off to a flying start, winning four on the spin and then beating Juventus on matchday 6 to cement their title ambitions. Parma and Fiorentina tried to keep pace with the Rossoneri, who were top at Christmas after a dominant girone d'andata. Ahead of the match against Roma, AC Milan were three points clear of the Viola, five ahead of the Gialloblù and eight ahead of Lippi's Juventus.

WEAH RETURNS AND SCORES
Capello opted for his usual system for the game against the Giallorossi as he had a rather significant returnee: Ballon d'Or winner George Weah, who had returned from international duty in the Africa Cup of Nations with Liberia. And it was King George who opened the scoring at San Siro after just seven minutes; Baggio played the perfect ball and Weah only had to get a touch on it to help past the onrushing goalkeeper Cervone. The guests responded not even 60 seconds later as Totti put Moriero through on goal, who stuck it home to make it 1-1. The game was a real thriller with chances on both sides but the first half ended with the teams still level.

PANUCCI WINS IT
The pace of the game remained unchanged after the break. In the 55th minute, the Rossoneri restored their lead. Baggio swung in the corner from the right and Savićević's header went in after a mix-up between Statuto and Aldair, who got the final touch. The two coaches played their hands; on the one side Eranio came on for Baggio while on the other Giannini replaced Lanna. Roma pressed for the equaliser but it was AC Milan, who killed off the game in the 86th minute. Savićević brought it down the right and skipped past a couple of defenders before playing the ball into the middle looking for the run of Panucci, who beat Cervone with a powerful effort. It was AC Milan's fifteenth game without defeat as they drew five points clears at the top following Fiorentina's draw in Cagliari. The lead would never be shorter than five until the end of the season at the Rossoneri secured their 15th league title in April with two games to spare.  

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