Two goals from Ronaldo and Pato's first goal with Milan stole the headlines in their team's impressive win over Napoli on Sunday evening at San Siro.
This game was labelled as Pato's match, since it marked the official debut of the Brazilian for Milan, and he did not disappoint as he proved fundamental in almost all of his team's goals. However, it was also crucial for Milan to return to winning ways in front of their home crowd - something they've failed to do in the league all season - but achieved in style tonight. The first half was an exciting one that kept all of the San Siro spectators on edge thanks to four goals in 45 minutes. Ronaldo made only his second appearance for the Rossoneri this season and he had the first shot on goal in the 10th minute after being set up by Kaka, but his shot did not worry goalkeeper Iezzo, who blocked the ball without difficulty. One minute later it was Kaka who had the opportunity to score, but his shot from the edge of the area went just over the bar. After a quarter of an hour Ronaldo opened the scoring for Milan. He first exchanged passes with Pato before Andrea Pirlo then delivered a sublime through ball for Ronaldo, who arrived all alone in front of goal and lobbed Iezzo in the Napoli goal. Cupi tried to clear the ball off the line but was a fraction too late as the linesman signalled and Milan began their celebrations. Pato could have doubled the score for Milan in the 20th minute, but his powerful shot was saved by Iezzo. As minutes passed, Napoli started pushing forward and in the 27th minute they equalized at the end of an excellent move which saw Lavezzi assist Sosa with a first time shot that beat Dida from close range. The equalizer galvanized the visitors, as the game opened up as an end-to-end encounter. Milan reclaimed the lead in the 31st minute thanks to Seedorf after Iezzo denied Pato twice with a scrambling double-save, the ball fortuitously fell out to the Dutch midfielder, who powered it into the net from close range. Three minutes later Iezzo made another great save to deny Pato and Napoli soon equalized again with Domizzi from the penalty spot. The penalty was awarded after Kaladze clumsily barged Lavezzi down inside the penalty area. The second half started in style as Ronaldo headed in a Seedorf cross after just 40 seconds of play to put the Rossoneri ahead for the third time in this spectacular encounter. Milan then tried to slow the game down and shut out the visitors, which they did well, as Napoli's only goal scoring chance in the first 20 minutes of the second half came from Gargano who shot speculatively from distance, but the shot was saved well by Dida. In the 68th minute Milan killed the game thanks to Kaka who, following a great team move, tried his luck from the edge of the area as he rocketed a shot into the bottom-left hand corner of the goal. The moment that will perhaps be best remembered in the game came once it was already over as a contest. In the 74th minute, the San Siro erupted when Pato scored his first goal after a receiving a long ball that he controlled exceptionally before slotting it in which made it 5-2. The goal galvanised the 17-year-old who then looked like scoring on a couple more occasions, but Iezzo did well to deny him and on occasion he could even arguably have been guilty of trying to shoot when he could have played in a team-mate. However, the Brazilian still proved his worth, at least to some degree, with some excellent moves which will surely confirm many of the good things that were said about him prior to his professional debut with the Rossoneri. The match ended with the San Siro in full voice as this great Milan side finally gave them what they had been waiting for. It was a deserved win, built largely on a brilliant second half performance. Napoli played well in the first half, but were no match for the world champions in the second. Though the final score may reflect a little harshly on the visitors, few will deny Milan this moment.
