AC Milan breathed a sigh of relief as they secured a narrow 1-0 Serie A win over a stubborn Verona side on Saturday, courtesy of a late Santiago Gimenez goal.

The gloom that had set in at San Siro lifted in the 75th minute when Gimenez headed home after a ball into the box was cleverly directed into his path by Rafael Leao.

Milan had dominated possession and created several chances in the first half, but they could not open the scoring, leading to growing frustration among both supporters and players, especially after a Gimenez goal was disallowed for offside.

Tijjani Reijnders and Joao Felix both drew fine saves from Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo before the break, the latter with a cross that almost swung all the way in.

The second half was a largely dull affair featuring few chances until Gimenez's goal lifted the hosts, with Verona never threatening a response in the closing stages.

The result lifts Sergio Conceicao's team to seventh with 41 points, five behind Lazio in fourth, the final qualification spot for next season's Champions League.

Data Debrief: Gimenez achieves rare feat

Gimenez has enjoyed an excellent start to life with the Rossoneri, after joining from Feyenoord in the mid-season transfer window. 

He has scored on both of his first two Serie A appearances for Milan, something only two other players had done for the club in the three-points-for-a-win era.

They were Andriy Shevchenko in 1999 and Christian Pulisic in 2023.