Giroud on target as AC Milan ease past Dinamo Zagreb

MILAN :AC Milan secured their first Champions League win this season after goals from Olivier Giroud, Alexis Saelemaekers and Tommaso Pobega powered them to a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb at home in Group E on Wednesday.

Giroud opened the scoring from the spot in the first half with Saelemaekers and Pobega adding two more after the interval as Milan, who drew at Salzburg in their group opener, grabbed a vital win despite a late rally from the Croatian champions.

A lively opening from Milan led to half-chances for Sandro Tonali and Giroud but the best opportunity of the half fell to Rafael Leao, who failed to get his shot away despite being brilliantly picked out by Brahim Diaz from deep.

Dinamo, conquerors of Chelsea on the opening matchday, almost struck against the run of play in the 28th minute through Sadegh Moharrami, whose left-footed effort was turned behind by Mike Maignan.

The Serie A winners finally made their dominance count when Giroud dispatched a penalty on the stroke of halftime after Leao went down under a clumsy challenge from Josip Sutalo.

Milan flew out of the traps in the second half and were rewarded instantly when Saelemaekers doubled their advantage with a thumping header following some excellent play down the left from Portugal international Leao.

But Dinamo refused to go away, displaying the grit that helped them topple Chelsea as they pulled one back through Mislav Orsic, who smashed home in the 56th minute after being set up by deft footwork from Bruno Petkovic.

Petkovic was a constant threat as the game wore on but Milan's superior attacking quality told when youngster Pobega combined with Theo Hernandez to finish off Dinamo.

Milan are top of Group E with four points from two games, with Dinamo one