AC Milan have survived a scare in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia after a pair of goals in extra time gave them a 3-1 win over second-tier side Crotone.
The hosts dominated the early possession but almost fell behind against the run of play in the 21st minute when Giuseppe Torromino forced a save out of Christian Abbiati after being given too much space around the box.
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Luiz Adriano almost put Milan in front moments later when he went on a mazy run and got a shot away, directing his effort too close to Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz.
The Serie B outfit caused the home side all kinds of problems in the first half, but they fell behind early in the second when Adriano collected a pass from Andrea Poli, rounded Cordaz and guided the ball in.
Milan started to control the game and came close to a second in the 58th minute when Suso's cross was met with an overhead kick by Antonio Nocerino, but Cordaz reacted quickly to keep it out.
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Crotone left the home supporters stunned in the 68th minute when they equalised through Ante Budimir, who took advantage of poor Milan defending and beat Abbiati with a low shot into the bottom corner.
Milan responded well to the equaliser, going straight back onto the attack, but their wastefulness in the final third continued right up until the full-time whistle.
It was the Serie A favourites who were asking all of the questions in the first half of extra time and they finally forced the issue in the 105th minute when Giacomo Bonaventura powered a free kick into the back of the net following a foul on the edge of the area.
The hosts ensured their place in the next round of the competition with five minutes of extra time remaining when M'Baye Niang netted their third to make it look like the tie was less close than it actually was.
Mark Langshaw
