CRISTIAN BROCCHI began his tenure as AC Milan coach by steering the struggling Serie A giants to their first win in six games, then paid thanks to Sinisa Mihajlovic after replacing the Serbian last week.

    Brocchi promptly ditched Mihajlovic’s 4-4-2 to deploy a 4-3-1-2 with Giacomo Bonaventura playing just behind Mario Balotelli and Carlos Bacca, and it ultimately paid dividends in a frenetic 1-0 win at Sampdoria that kept Milan’s hopes of European football on track.

    Colombian international Carlos Bacca spurned several chances before breaking the deadlock on 71 minutes to end a five-game winless streak and hand Brocchi his first win as coach in Serie A.

    Brocchi said he had not received a congratulatory phone call from club president Silvio Berlusconi, but told Premium Sport: “I said thanks to the team for everything they gave me tonight, they left everything out there on the pitch.

    “I also want to thank Sinisa, who sent me a message to congratulate me on the victory. That’s a sign of his class, and I’m thankful for it.”

    On-loan Liverpool striker Balotelli had recently fought his way back into Mihajlovic’s starting line-up, and the former Italy international — who is set to miss Euro 2016 — impressed his new coach at the club.

    “He was fantastic,” added Brocchi. “All he was missing was a goal.”

    Despite several free kick efforts going off target, it was a largely positive display from the former bad boy of Italian and English football — although Bacca was Sampdoria’s biggest problem in a frenetic game at the Luigi Ferraris stadium.

    Milan remains in sixth place with a four-point lead on Sassuolo and Lazio, with Sampdoria in 15th at only six points above the drop zone.

    Having missed out on Champions League qualification, it leaves Brocchi’s side with two chances to qualify for the Europa League.

    Milan faces Juventus in the final of the Italian Cup, with the winner earning a Europa League spot. Since Juve have already secured a Champions League spot, Cup final victory on May 21 would give the spot to Serie A’s sixth place finisher.

    Juventus continued its march toward a fifth successive Serie A title as it beat relegation-threatened Palermo 4-0 to move nine points clear Sunday.

    Second-place Napoli lost 2-0 at Inter Milan on Saturday. There are five rounds left.

    Earlier, third-place Roma missed the chance to close the gap to Napoli to three points as it drew 3-3 at Atalanta.

    (SD-Agencies)