TIME MACHINE: GENOA vs. AC MILAN

Before the international break, it was an away match against Genoa. After the home Derby, the Rossoneri were back on the road for Matchday 11 of Serie A, heading to the Stadio L. Ferraris in Genoa's Marassi district, where on December 2, 2011, AC Milan produced a convincing 2-0 win, inspired by the brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimović and a strong all-around team performance. This was Allegri’s second season in charge, with the reigning champions still in excellent form.

It was a wintery Friday night, and Van Bommel, Pato and Abbiati were all unavailable. It was not quite an injury crisis, but hardly ideal preparation for an important, tricky fixture. The Rossoneri were coming off a dominant 4-0 win over ChievoVerona at San Siro and had not lost since the start of October, when they were lost away against Juventus, their closest rivals in the title race. It was not a straightforward evening, with play briefly interrupted by crowd trouble inside the stadium.

Ibrahimović and Nocerino proved to be a dangerous combination. Early on, the striker twice picked out the midfielder's runs, with Nocerino denied first by Rossi and then by Frey from close range. Robinho, Boateng and Nocerino all had further attempts without finding the target, before Ibra forced another save from Frey. Genoa grew into the game late in the first half: Amelia punched away a dangerous Veloso free kick, while Mesto failed to capitalize on a mix-up between Thiago Silva and Yepes in possession.

The turning point came in the 56th minute. Robinho sent Ibrahimović through, and the Swede was brought down inside the box by former AC Milan defender Kaladze, who was shown a second yellow card and sent off. Penalty: Ibrahimović made no mistake, drilling his spot kick home to give AC Milan the lead. The closing stages were more comfortable, although Robinho somehow missed from point-blank range and Rossi went close with a backheel that drifted wide. Then, in the 79th minute, AC Milan put the result beyond doubt. Boateng delivered into the box and Nocerino arrived to finish calmly from close range. 2-0 to the Rossoneri, who would ultimately fall short in their bid to retain the title at the end of the 2011/12 season.

The new AC Milan 2026/27 PUMA Kits are here: buy them now!