Gonçalo Ramos needed 69 minutes and three misses to open his San Siro account

For 69 minutes this was a lesson in how to waste a good evening. Milan created six big chances to Venezia's none, and the scoreboard would not move.

Gonçalo Ramos was the man missing most of them. He had already passed up two clear openings in the first half — Chukwueze and De Winter had theirs too — before Alexis Saelemaekers put him through on 69 minutes. This time he took a touch and finished low across the goalkeeper, into the far corner. His first at San Siro.

Venezia had a plan, and it nearly held

Venezia did not come to defend for ninety minutes and hope. Adams and Yeboah were a genuine problem on the counter, and the visitors got two shots on target out of the evening — which, on the balance of chances, was not far off what Milan managed to convert.

It ended badly anyway. In the 89th minute a Ramos effort ricocheted off Stanković and went in off Redouane Halhal: 2-0, and a scoreline that flatters Milan less than it looks, given the expected goals read 2.13 to 0.82.

Match facts

• 69' — Gonçalo Ramos (AC Milan), assisted by Alexis Saelemaekers
• 70' — Strahinja Pavlović (AC Milan) booked for a foul on Yeboah
• 74' — Luka Modrić substituted, to a standing ovation
• 89' — Redouane Halhal (Venezia), own goal

One row is deliberately missing. ESPN and Eurosport disagree on the total shot counts — ESPN's own on-target percentages point to 16 and 9, Eurosport's breakdown adds up to 14 and 5 — so rather than pick a side we left the line out. Everything above is confirmed.

What's next

Milan are the only side in Italy with two games played and they have won both: six points, top of the table, four scored and one conceded. Venezia are 20th, two matches, no points and no goals. Both sides are back on Sunday 6 September, after the international break — Milan away at Juventus, Venezia away at Frosinone, which already looks like the fixture their season is pointing at.

Ruben Amorim, who is still unbeaten since taking over, was not in a celebrating mood: he said Milan have plenty of work to do at the back. On a night they kept a clean sheet, that says something about what he saw.