Serie A: AC Milan 2 Lazio 2

AC Milan failed to mark their Serie A title defence with an opening-day victory after only managing to draw 2-2 with Lazio at the San Siro.

The visitors took a shock lead with goals from new arrivals Miroslav Klose and Djibril Cisse on Friday, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano ensured Milan did not begin the new campaign with a whimper.

Alberto Aquilani, arguably a surprise inclusion in Milan’s starting XI, was gifted the opportunity to mark his debut with a goal after Ibrahimovic acutely played him in one-on-one with Albano Bizzarri, but the Argentine stopper blocked his effort.

Lazio began to pile the pressure on their northern Italian counterparts, and it proved fruitful as ex-Bayern Munich star Klose opened the scoring for his side, capping his debut with a sublime finish on 12 minutes.

Stefano Mauri floated a curling ball into his path, and the German hitman collected it magnificently, showing great footwork to weave his way around Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva in the box and coolly drive his shot past Christian Abbiati.

Indeed, it got worse for the Scudetto holders only six minutes later, as Cisse made it 2-0 by meeting another of Mauri’s impressively pinpoint crosses from the right, and powering a bullet header past the helpless Abbiati in the Milan goal.

The champions responded on 29 minutes, as Ibrahimovic opened his account for the new season with a simple tap-in after fantastic build-up play from Aquilani, whose visionary first-time through-ball released Cassano and he expertly drilled the ball hard and low into the Swede’s path.

Cassano showed his predatory instinct in front of goal to grab an equaliser for the Rossoneri on 33 minutes; Aquilani again featured in the build-up, whipping in the assist from the corner flag.

The second half offered far less invention and entertainment in comparison to the frantic first 45 minutes, as both teams took their foot off the pedal, content to maintain a slower tempo for the remainder of the match and much to the disappointment of the fans at San Siro.