Roma 1 AC Milan 0: Radja Nainggolan long ranged effort settles Serie A clash after Wojciech Szczesny saves first half penalty
Arsenal's on-loan shot stopper redeemed himself after hacking down AC Milan's Gianluca Lapadula
RADJA NAINGGOLAN'S second half strike was enough to separate the two Italian giants in an evenly contested Serie A clash.
In a game of little chances, the Belgian drove forward before unleashing a left-footed strike that beat young keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But the scoreline could have been different had it not been for M'Baye Niang's first half penalty miss.
AC Milan's Gianluca Lapadula was bearing down on goal before on-loan Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny rushed off his line and wildly hacked down the forward.
The referee was left with no option but to award the penalty.
However Szczesny quickly redeemed himself when he dived to the left to palm away Niang's weak effort. It was the Pole's second penalty save of the season.
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The penalty miss took the stuffing out of the visitors who struggled to create anything going forward.
After a drab first half, the introduction of Stephan El Shaarawy gave the home side a greater attacking threat with Edin Dzeko forcing Donnarumma into a smart save.
And with 62 minutes of the clock, Nainggolan proved why he is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in world football with a trademark long-ranged effort.
Looking back at the replays, 17-year-old Donnarumma may have felt he could have done better with the strike.
AC Milan boss Vincenzo Montella reacted by making two quickfire changes with the introduction of Matias Fernandez and Luiz Adriano but they failed to make any impact as Roma comfortably hung on to all three points.
With Juventus away at the weekend, Roma know a win will put them within a point of the Old Lady whilst AC Milan remain seven points behind the league leaders.