This was a mouth-watering clash between two SA giants looking to prove their title credentials, with Roma having plenty of joy on the road in recent weeks.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were looking to enhance their reputation as happy travellers, and they made an impressive start here too.
Bryan Cristante was not far away from breaking the deadlock with his solo effort, while Evan Ndicka was inches away from converting a header following Matias Soule’s enticing cross.
The Rossoneri were struggling to stem the tide of Giallorossi attacks, as Paulo Dybala fired wide from deep inside the box. Ultimately, though, Roma were made to pay for their first-half wastefulness, as Milan took the lead against the run of play.
A blistering counterattack resulted in Rafael Leão laying the ball on a plate for Strahinja Pavlovic to fire home. Youssouf Fofana should have doubled their lead, but the Frenchman slammed the turf in frustration after inexplicably firing wide from deep inside the box just before HT.
Momentum had seemingly swung in favour of Milan after the restart, as Samuele Ricci’s volley sailed just wide of the post prior to Mile Svilar taking centre stage.
The Serbian superbly parried Leao’s effort to safety, before the subsequent corner hit an unsuspecting Christopher Nkunku and cannoned off the post. Somehow, Milan failed to double their advantage when Mario Hermoso blocked Leão’s strike on the line after Svilar denied Davide Bartesaghi and Ricci in quick succession.
Nevertheless, Roma suddenly had a lifeline when referee Marco Guida pointed to the spot after Fofana handled in his attempt to block Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free-kick from the edge of the box.
However, Mike Maigan dived to his left and made a superb stop to parry away Dybala’s penalty, preserving Milan’s slender lead.
In the end, Pavlović’s strike was all that separated the two sides at the final whistle, as Massimiliano Allegri’s men extended their unbeaten run to 10 games (W7, D3) across all competitions to move up to third.
Meanwhile, Roma drop down a couple of places into fourth after succumbing to a first away defeat of the season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rafael Leao (AC Milan)