Goncalo Ramos breaks Milan duck in dramatic Venezia victory

Goncalo Ramos scored his first goal for Milan as the Rossoneri beat Venezia 2-0 at San Siro in their first home match of the season.

The Portuguese forward’s second-half finish, followed by a late own goal, secured three points for Milan after they missed several clear chances during an entertaining contest.

The match began with a special tribute to Milan legend and former captain Franco Baresi, who died on 31 July at the age of 66.

Milan made two changes to the side that defeated Torino 2-1 in the opening round. Luka Modric and Davide Bartesaghi came into the starting line-up in place of Ardon Jashari and Pervis Estupinan.

Adrien Rabiot and Christian Pulisic were unavailable because they were not yet fully fit after taking part in the World Cup. Rafael Leao, Samuel Ricci, Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana and Santiago Gimenez were left out while talks continued over potential departures.

Venezia arrived at San Siro after a 2-0 defeat by Lecce. They remained without Andrea Adorante, Matias Moreno and Marin Sverko, while coach chose Ridgeciano Haps ahead of Thierry Correira.

Milan started purposefully, with Ramos sending an early effort wide after meeting a cross from Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The striker then beat the offside trap soon afterwards, but Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic reacted sharply to deny him.

Venezia also carried a threat. Akor Adams tested Mike Maignan with a powerful shot, which the Milan goalkeeper pushed away. At the other end, Strahinja Pavlovic broke into the penalty area after receiving a pass from Bartesaghi, only for Stankovic to rush off his line and clear the danger.

Pavlovic was equally important in defence, cutting out a dangerous move from John Yeboah after Adams had delivered a cross. Stankovic continued to frustrate Milan by keeping out a low Ramos effort from inside the area.

Samuel Chukwueze went close for the hosts, while Ramos later fired over the crossbar. Venezia were then forced into a stoppage-time change before half-time after Bartol Franjic suffered a shoulder injury.

The visitors created the first opportunity after the interval, with Antoine Hainaut shooting across goal following a cross from Haps. Milan responded when Yunus Musah met a header inside the six-yard box and sent the ball powerfully towards the bar.

Alexis Saelemaekers made an immediate impact after coming on. He first supplied a headed cross towards Ramos, who sent his attempt narrowly wide, before the pair combined to break the deadlock.

Saelemaekers led a counter-attack and threaded an intelligent pass through the Venezia defence. Ramos ran on to it and struck a left-footed shot from close range, the ball passing between Gianluca Busio’s legs before finding the net.

Venezia tried to respond through Yeboah, but Maignan produced another save. The Milan goalkeeper then came well outside his penalty area to stop Leon Lauberbach when the forward had broken clear.

Milan finally settled the match in dramatic fashion in the closing minutes. Saelemaekers’ clever pass released Ardon Jashari, whose attempted lob was saved by Stankovic. The ball rebounded off Venezia defender Redouane Halhal and rolled into the unguarded net to confirm the Lombardy side’s victory.