Rome, Mar 01: AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted after his team snatched a precious 1-0 win over Lazio at Rome's Olympic stadium.
The result preserved Milan's five-point lead at the top of Serie A and avenged the humiliating 4-0 Italian Cup defeat they suffered away to Lazio earlier this month.
''To come out of this match with a win is a very important result for us,'' Ancelotti told reporters yesterday.
''I think a lot of people were expecting us to slip up here, especially after the Italian Cup result.''
Lazio created most of the chances in a match characterised more by watertight defending than fluid attacking play with midfielder Massimo Ambrosini heading the 75th-minute winner.



Ancelotti defended his team from accusations that they did not deserve the three points.



''Sure, we weren't great in attack but the most important thing was to get the win,'' he said.



''The back four did brilliantly and our midfield did well to act as a filter in front of them.''



A clearly disappointed Roberto Mancini complained that the result was hard on his side.



''I don't think Milan did anything to win this match, with the exception of Cafu's (17th-minute) shot, but that's football,'' said the Lazio coach.



''We had most of the pressure -- 15 corners compared with their two. They had a fair bit of possession but made very little of it.



''All we can do is absorb this defeat and move on,'' said Mancini. ''I'm happy with the way my guys played. I'm just sorry it didn't turn out better''.



Lazio remained fourth in the standings -- Italy's final Champions League berth -- one point ahead of Parma, who lost 4-1 at home to Roma earlier yesterday, and three clear of Inter, who slid to a 3-1 defeat against Brescia in Milan.


Bureau Report