The 2010–11 season was Associazione Calcio Milan's 77th season in Serie A, and their 28th consecutive season in the top flight of Italian football. It was the first season under new head coach Massimiliano Allegri, who replaced Leonardo, and with new shirt sponsors Fly Emirates, after four seasons with Bwin.
Milan secured their 18th Serie A title – their first since 2003–04 – following a goalless draw away against Roma on 7 May. The club also competed in the Champions League, being knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16, and took part in the Coppa Italia, being eliminated by Palermo in the semi-finals.
Pre-season and friendlies
For the second-straight year, Milan opened their pre-season by taking on Varese in an away game, on 25 July. Unlike the previous year, however, they suffered a 2–0 defeat, with first-half goals from Daniele Buzzegoli and Marco Cellini.
As part of the Emirates Cup, Milan then played two friendlies against Arsenal and Lyon at the Emirates Stadium, London, on 31 July and 1 August respectively. Both games finished 1–1. Alexandre Pato headed an equalizer late in the second half against Arsenal, after the English club had gone ahead through Marouane Chamakh. Meanwhile, Marco Borriello opened the scoring against Lyon before Jimmy Briand tied the game with 12 minutes to play. The tournament was eventually won by Arsenal.
The Rossoneri later traveled to the United States to face Greek side Panathinaikos in Detroit on 6 August. The first 90 minutes ended in a scoreless draw, though early in the second half the Greeks had a goal disallowed despite the ball having crossed the line. Without extra time, the game went straight to penalties where Milan won 5–3, with Daniele Bonera converting the deciding spot-kick.
Following the club's return to Italy, on 13 August, they took part in the TIM Trophy, held in Bari, along with Internazionale and Juventus. In the first of two 45-minute matches, Milan faced Juventus, who had previously been defeated by Inter; Ronaldinho opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but Juventus later equalized through Diego, setting the final score at 1–1. Penalties were taken to assign one extra point for the tournament standings and Milan won 4–2, as goalkeeper Marco Amelia completed two saves. The second and deciding game against Inter finished in a goalless draw, again forcing penalties. Misfires by Mathieu Flamini, Filippo Inzaghi and Ronaldinho resulted in a 3–2 loss, and the trophy was awarded to Inter.
Juventus were also Milan's opponents in the annual Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi, held at the San Siro on 22 August. The match finished scoreless after 90 minutes and the winners had to be decided by penalties. Juventus won on penalties 5–4, as Thiago Silva was the only player to miss from the spot.
Milan concluded their pre-season on 25 August, taking on Barcelona in the 45th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy. After a goalless first half, David Villa opened the scoring for Barcelona only two minutes into the second half. Inzaghi equalized in the 67th minute with a volley off a cross by Clarence Seedorf, setting the final score to 1–1 and sending the game to penalties, which Barcelona won 3–1 to lift the trophy.
During the league winter break, Milan traveled to Dubai where they resumed their trainings and played a friendly match against local club Al-Ahli on 2 January 2011. The match ended 2–1 for the Rossoneri, who opened the scoring through Clarence Seedorf late in the first half, and then doubled their lead through youth team striker Giacomo Beretta in the 73rd minute, before the hosts pulled one back with a 25-yard strike by Hasan Ali.
DateOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendance 25 July 2010 Varese A 0 – 2 6,000 31 July 2010 Arsenal A 1 – 1 Pato 60,012 1 August 2010 Lyon N 1 – 1 Borriello 59,727 6 August 2010 Panathinaikos N 0 – 0 (5 – 3p) 30,540 13 August 2010 Juventus(45 mins) N 1 – 1 (4 – 2p) Ronaldinho 40,000 13 August 2010 Internazionale(45 mins) N 0 – 0 (2 – 3p) 40,000 22 August 2010 Juventus H 0 – 0 (4 – 5p) 35,000 25 August 2010 Barcelona A (1 – 3p) Inzaghi 96,195 2 January 2011 Al-Ahli A 2 – 1 Seedorf , Beretta 12,000
Serie A
The fixtures for the current Serie A season were announced by the Serie A on 28 July. Milan began their league campaign by cruising past newly promoted Lecce at the San Siro on Sunday, 29 August. The Rossoneri took the lead after 16 minutes with an angled drive by Alexandre Pato. Soon after, Thiago Silva scrambled home a corner, before Pato grabbed his second goal of the night, setting the score to 3–0 by the 28th minute. There was little action in the second half until shortly before the final whistle, when Filippo Inzaghi made it 4–0. After the first round of league games, Milan topped the table on goal difference.
After a two-week break for international play, Milan traveled to the Stadio Dino Manuzzi to face another newly promoted team, Cesena. The match was much anticipated, as it would feature the debut of new signings Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robinho. It turned out to be a disappointing night for the Rossoneri, however, who lost 2–0. After missing a couple of early chances with Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva and having a goal disallowed for offside, they went behind in the 31st minute, as Erjon Bogdani headed in a cross from Ezequiel Schelotto. One minute before half-time, Cesena doubled their lead through Emanuele Giaccherini on a fast paced counter-attack. Milan had another goal called off early in the second half, this time for handball, but in the end were unable to score, with Ibrahimović missing a penalty in the late stages of the game.
Only three days after defeating Auxerre in Champions League, Milan took on Catania at the San Siro. The Sicilians opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Ciro Capuano, who fired a 30-yard strike past Christian Abbiati. Moments before the interval, Milan equalised with a goal from Filippo Inzaghi. After a scoreless second half, the game ended in a 1–1 draw. It went no better on the following Wednesday, as Milan recorded another 1–1 draw in a mid-week game against Lazio. The Rossoneri went ahead in the 66th minute thanks to Ibrahimović. Clarence Seedorf played a long through-ball to the Swede, who dribbled goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and scored. The hosts equalised with nine minutes to play through a first-time shot by Sergio Floccari on Hernanes' cross. In the last minutes, both teams missed the chance to claim the victory: Gianluca Zambrotta hit the crossbar with a powerful strike from just outside the box, while Hernanes was denied by a save from Abbiati.
Milan returned to winning ways by defeating Genoa 1–0 at home on Saturday, 25 September. The lone goal was scored by Ibrahimović in the 49th minute. The Swede striker chased a long ball by Andrea Pirlo and managed to stuck his leg between defenders Dario Dainelli and Andrea Ranocchia to kick the ball over the head of goalkeeper Eduardo, who only managed to palm it into the net. Milan repeated themselves the following Saturday, beating Parma, to get their first away victory of the season. The only scorer was Pirlo with a 35-yard shot in the 25th minute.
After the second break for internationals of the season, Milan defeated Chievo 3–1 at home on Saturday, 16 October. Pato opened the scoring for the Rossoneri in the 18th minute with a one-time shot off an Ibrahimović cross. The Brazilian scored again twelve minutes later, following a quick free kick by Ibrahimović. In the second half, Chievo pulled one back, as a header from Sergio Pellissier was deflected by Ibrahimović into his own net. Milan's third and final goal was scored by Robinho in stoppage time.
Milan claimed a fourth consecutive win in the league, as they beat Napoli at the San Paolo on Monday, 25 October. The Rossoneri went ahead in the 22nd minute through Robinho, who played a one-two with Massimo Oddo and shot the ball past Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis from just inside the penalty area. Zlatan Ibrahimović headed in a cross by Oddo to double the lead in the 71st minute. With 12 minutes to play, Napoli pulled one back through Ezequiel Lavezzi, but Milan managed to resist and eventually won 2–1.
Milan's winning streak came to an end on Saturday, 30 October, when they played host to Juventus and were defeated 2–1. The Rossoneri had a good start, but failed to score: Zlatan Ibrahimović hit the crossbar with a 25-yard shot in the seventh minute, while Pato was called offside moments later when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The visitors then took lead in the 24th minute through Fabio Quagliarella, who headed in a cross from Paolo De Ceglie. Despite Milan's efforts to equalise, Juventus doubled their lead midway in the second half through Alessandro Del Piero. Eight minutes before the end, Ibrahimović scored Milan's lone goal of the evening, a header off Luca Antonini's cross, which could not prevent the loss.
Four days after drawing against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Milan traveled to the San Nicola to take on Bari. The Rossoneri quickly went ahead, as Massimo Ambrosini headed in a cross by Clarence Seedorf in the fourth minute. Shortly after the half-hour mark, Milan doubled their lead through Mathieu Flamini, who received the ball from Zlatan Ibrahimović inside the penalty area and put it past Bari goalkeeper Jean-François Gillet into the net. The hosts pulled one back in the 65th minute with a goal from Vitali Kutuzov, but seven minutes later Pato made it 3–1 following a pass from Seedorf, before a late goal from Barreto set the final score to 3–2. The Rossoneri subsequently claimed a midweek home victory over Palermo. Pato opened the scoring, heading in a corner by Seedorf in the 19th minute. The visitors equalised 18 minutes in the second half through Armin Bačinović, whose 25-yard strike surprised goalkeeper Christian Abbiati. Milan, however, were awarded a penalty in 77th minute, as Palermo 'keeper Salvatore Sirigu brought down Ambrosini. Ibrahimović stepped up and scored for Milan to regain the lead. Seven minutes before time, Robinho made it 3–1 and sealed the win, which meant Milan were back at the top of the table, one point ahead Lazio.
At the following weekend, Milan were to face Internazionale in the first Derby della Madonnina of the season, which the Rossoneri had lost on the last three occasions. Only five minutes into the game, Zlatan Ibrahimović was awarded a penalty for being taken down by Marco Materazzi; Ibrahimović himself converted the spot-kick to put Milan ahead. Despite being left with ten men, as Ignazio Abate was sent off in the 60th minute, Milan managed to maintain the lead and claimed a third straight victory. Milan then played host to Fiorentina on 20 November. A goal from Ibrahimović shortly before half-time was enough for Milan to claim a 1–0 victory. The Swedish striker chested a cross from Thiago Silva inside the penalty area and scored in the bottom right corner with an overhead kick.
After clinching qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League in mid-week, Milan traveled to Genoa to face Sampdoria on Saturday, 27 November. Despite Milan going ahead shortly before the interval through Robinho, who combined with Ibrahimović and scored from inside the box, the hosts managed to equalise on the hour with a goal by Giampaolo Pazzini, setting the final score to 1–1.