Luka Modric scored his first Serie A goal as AC Milan held on to defeat Bologna 1-0 at the San Siro.
The home side had the bulk of the chances in the first half, with Pervis Estupiñán and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both hitting the woodwork.
It was the 40-year-old Croatian though that broke the deadlock for Milan, getting onto the end of an Alexis Saelemaekers pass to expertly slot it past Poland keeper Lukasz Skorupski on the hour mark.
Christopher Nkunku came on to make his Milan debut and within seconds appeared to win a penalty, only for VAR to overturn the decision.
That led to outrage amongst the home fans and dugout and manager Massimiliano Allegri was sent to the stands for his reaction.
It was a match full of debuts following the summer transfer window closing, and former Marseille teammates Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe were reacquainted after their training ground altercation, which led to the Ligue 1 club deciding to move both players on.
– Guardiola on Foden: ‘We missed him so much’
– Defiant Amorim ‘won’t change’ philosophy at Manchester United
Rabiot played the full 90 minutes for Milan, in an advanced midfield position alongside Loftus-Cheek, while Rowe entered the fray for the away side from the bench.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic was also a replacement for Milan and looked extremely dangerous when coming on for former Chelsea teammate Loftus-Cheek after 65 minutes.
Another former Chelsea player Nkunku replaced Santiago Jimenez with just five minutes to go and thought he had made an immediate impact.
Referee Matteo Marcenaro consulted VAR though and concluded there was not enough force in Remo Freuler’s challenge and the decision was overturned.
Allegri’s rage saw his trademark blazer strip off and in his anger he was sent to the stands by Marcenaro.
He is now unable to be in dugout for Milan’s trip to Udinese next week.
