AC Milan have leapfrogged Catania into seventh place in Serie A with a 3-1 victory at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.
Stephan El Shaarawy bagged a second-half brace, while Kevin-Prince Boateng also got on the scoresheet to help the Rossoneri overcome an early scare.
Catania had taken the lead through Niccola Legrottaglie, but Pablo Barrientos saw red just after the break, forcing the hosts to finish the game with 10 men.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.
Match statistics:
Catania:
Shots 3
On target 2
Possession 27%
Corners 3
Fouls 12
Milan:
Shots 13
On target 6
Possession 73%
Corners 3
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
Yes, although the way in which it came was not. Milan dominated possession for the entirety of the match, but struggled to create anything in the first half. Pablo Barrientos's red card early in the second half helped them no end.
Catania's performance
6/10. Rolando Maran set his team up with 10 men behind the ball. They nicked a goal from a corner and set about defending that lead. They did so very well in the first half, crowding Milan out around their own penalty area. However, their task was made much more difficult when Barrientos received his second yellow just minutes after the break. There was nothing special about the way they played, and even when leading they seemed content to just sit back and protect it. Catania refused to give up and made a match of it, but ultimately Milan had too much space and should have won by more.
Milan's performance
7/10. The Rossoneri failed to click in the first half. They saw plenty of the ball, but Catania's solid defence restricted them to very few chances. Once they had a numerical advantage, Milan began to find more space and began to carve out more opportunities. Stephan El Shaarawy hardly had a sniff in the first period, but came alive in the second. He was involved in everything, and got the equaliser with an instinctive finish. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored a beauty to give Milan the lead, before El Shaarawy struck once again to wrap up the points in injury time. Robinho, Antonio Nocerino and Boateng had chances to put the game to bed before that. The night ended on a sour note for Boateng, who saw red late on. All in all, it was a decent performance but it would have been interesting to see how they would have fared against 11 men.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Stephan El Shaarawy: Despite a quiet first half, the 20-year-old scored a brace to rescue his side once more.
Biggest gaffe
Robinho missed an absolute sitter after Milan had broke at lightning pace. He played a give-and-go with Nocerino and had the ball at his feet inside the box with only the keeper to beat... and skied his shot. Terrible.
Referee's performance
The referee spoiled the game by sending Barrientos off. The Argentine received his first booking for a dive just before half time, but the referee should have used a bit of common sense with his second yellow. It was a clear foul on Nocerino, but a yellow card was harsh. There was no intent and it was hardly reckless.
What next?
Catania: The Rossazzurri will try to avenge tonight's defeat when they travel to Siena next Sunday.
Milan: The Rossoneri travel to Torino, also next Sunday.
Michael Penkman
