After a torrid start to the campaign, Lazio’s return of 10 points from their previous five league games had seen them fly up the table, and they looked to have brought that momentum into this match.
Inside two minutes, Le Aquile ought to have taken the lead via a Mario Gila header, but they were spectacularly denied by a world-class stop from Mike Maignan, who palmed onto the crossbar to keep the visitors at bay.
An evenly-contested period followed, as Milan maintained their record of not having conceded in the opening 25 minutes of a game this season, with limited chances at either end aiding their cause.
Struggling to carve out a genuine opportunity of note, the Rossoneri were again indebted to their shot-stopper at the other end, with Maignan getting down low to keep out Mattia Zaccagni from a tight angle after 32 minutes.
Things just weren’t clicking in an attacking sense for the hosts, though, and as half-time arrived, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were yet to fire a shot on target, with a diminished bench limiting his options ahead of the second half.
Again, Maurizio Sarri’s men started the half on the front foot, yet it was the home fans who were celebrating six minutes after the restart, thanks to some neat interplay that culminated with the ball squirming under Ivan Provedel as Rafael Leao tucked home Fikayo Tomori’s pinpoint cross.
None of Lazio’s last six fixtures had seen both sides score, so it wasn’t just the flow of play going against the visitors - though that continued relentlessly, with Youssouf Fofana miskicking at the end of a wonderful solo run, shortly before Leao forced a stop from Provedel with a header, signalling the hosts’ urgency to kill off the contest.
That period of dominance didn’t extend the home side’s advantage, and they were almost made to pay for it in dramatic circumstances when a last-gasp penalty was controversially not awarded to Lazio. Allegri was dismissed during the commotion, but it made no difference to the outcome, as Milan are now undefeated in seven home encounters (W6, D1).
Only a draw or a one-goal win for Napoli in their clash with Roma tomorrow will see them enter the final month of 2025 as leaders, however. Meanwhile, eighth-placed Lazio have now blanked in six of their seven most recent league trips, including each of their last four – Le Aquile’s worst such streak since 2012.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mike Maignan (AC Milan)