AC Milan joined Malaga in the second round of the Champions League after also qualifying from Group C with a 3-1 win at Anderlecht.
After a goalless first half, Stephan El Shaarawy scored early in the second period, with Philippe Mexes adding a stunning overhead kick.
Tom de Sutter got a goal back for the hosts but Milan wrapped up the win late on through Alexandre Pato.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the game of two halves that was Anderlecht vs. Milan.
Match statistics:
Anderlecht:
Shots 8
On target 2
Possession 61%
Corners 6
Fouls 14
Milan:
Shots 4
On target 4
Possession 39%
Corners 2
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
Interestingly, despite the possession and overall shots, it was. Despite seeing so much of the ball Anderlecht did not create many clear chances until after they went 2-0 down. Milan knew that the home side needed to go for the win and they were able to pick them off with two clinical breaks and a stunner from Mexes.
Anderlecht's performance
6/10. Although the scoreline suggests otherwise, Anderlecht were on top for long periods of the game, as seen with their possession stats. However, they were too wasteful in the final third and too fragile at the back to win this game and did not play with any urgency really until they were already two goals down.
Milan's performance
7/10. Better, but far from perfect. In the first half Milan were beyond poor and did not test Silvio Proto at all. After the break, however, the attacking trio seemed to click and Stephan El Shaarawy managed to stretch Anderlecht at the back with his pace. The defence was much stronger in the second half too, but Milan will need to improve against the big guns in the next round.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Stephan El Shaarawy: This is a close call as it could have gone to Kevin Constant, who was impressive at left-back for the Italians. However, El Shaarawy's touch to open the scoring and his influence in Milan's counter-attacking style in the second half changed the game.
Biggest gaffe
There wasn't a great deal done wrong tonight but Guillaume Gillet has to get this 'award' for his statuesque defending for Milan's opener. He left El Shaarawy wide open, forcing Cheikhou Kouyate to come across to cover, but the damage had been done.
Referee performance
Damir Skomina had a very good game tonight. He had a big decision to make at 1-0 as Alexandre Pato was fouled by Bram Nuytinck 40 yards from goal. Despite the Brazilian having cut back, the nearest defender was too far away to comfortably cover so Nuytinck had to walk. Skomina took his time, then produced the red card in a good call.
What next?
Anderlecht: Anderlecht will look to get back to winning ways after their five-game winning run was halted tonight. They travel to Germinal Beerschot in three days' time.
Milan: Milan will be looking to improve on their poor Serie A position on Sunday as they host Juventus. They then travel to Catania five days later.
Matt Domm
