Tijjani Reijnders' second-half strike proved decisive as Milan edged to a 1-0 win over Verona in a keenly contested Serie A clash on Friday.

After failing to win their last two league matches, Milan moved up to seventh in the table with a much-needed three points.

The visitors struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, and almost found themselves behind as Tomas Suslov pounced on Samuel Chukwueze's loose pass before forcing Mike Maignan into a low save.

Fonseca then suffered an injury blow as Rafael Leao was forced off before the break with what looked to be a muscle problem. 

However, Milan eventually found a breakthrough in the 56th minute as Reijnders made a well-timed run to evade the defence before expertly guiding a first-time shot into the top corner. 

Despite a spirited display, Verona could not find a late equaliser and remain one place and one point above the relegation zone. 

Data Debrief: Making the difference

After Milan's goalless draw with Genoa last weekend caused some of the fans' frustration to boil over, the Rossoneri entered the Christmas break with three points thanks to Reijnders. 

The Dutchman has now scored four goals in 15 appearances this season, his joint-most goals in a single season in the top-10 European leagues (four in 33 games for AZ in 2021-22).

After conceding two goals in each of the first three league matches this season, Milan have now kept a clean sheet in eight of their last 12 Serie A matches, with only Napoli (nine) and Juventus (10) keeping more this season.

Their defence deserves credit though as they limited Verona to just 0.8 expected goals (xG), with only two of their 10 shots hitting the target.