Milan show resilience ahead of Barcelona return

AC Milan strengthened their grip on third place in Serie A with a 2-0 victory away to Genoa CFC.

A point ahead of FC Internazionale Milano at the start of play, the Rossoneri moved further away from their city rivals thanks to goals in either half from Giampaolo Pazzini and Mario Balotelli against a Genoa side that remain five points clear of the bottom three.

The home side had the better of the formative stages but Pazzini (22) fired in a spectacular opener off the bar from the edge of the area as Massimiliano Allegri's men attempted to close to within eight points of leaders Juventus. The goalscorer could not continue after his strike, but his replacement Balotelli took up the baton with aplomb.

Genoa nearly levelled five minutes into the second half when Cesare Bovo's free-kick struck an upright before Milan doubled their advantage. Balotelli (60) rifled in his fifth goal in as many league games from Cristián Zapata's cunning reverse pass but the result remained in the balance when Kévin Constant was sent off five minutes later.