Milan are still not quite over the line. There are around 60 seconds to go before Gattuso and his players can celebrate what would be a massive victory to end 2018.
90' +2
SPAL are unable to get the ball into the Milan box. Borini tries to take the ball into the corner, but he loses possession.
90' +1
Four minutes have been added on at the end of this tight match, the first of which has passed with little incident.
89'
Suso gets a second yellow card and is sent off.
Milan will finish the match with 10 players. Suso, who was booked for dissent a little earlier, goes in late on Valdifiori and is shown his second yellow.
87'
Milan will be happy to hear the full-time whistle now. The home side have had chances to put the game out of SPAL's reach, but Semplici's side could just as easily have leveled up the match. There is still time for a late, late twist.
82'
F. Borini enters the game and replaces G. Higuaín.
Higuain was jeered by many home fans towards the end of a disappointing first half, but he leaves the field to cheers after bagging the goal that he was desperate for. Borini comes on for the final eight minutes.
79'
Suso gets yellow.
Suso is booked for dissent, frustrated that he was penalised for a similar challenge that a SPAL player got away with a little earlier.
76'
SHOT SAVED! Milan have looked very comfortable since edging a goal in front, but SPAL are not out of the game for as long as there is only the one goal in it. Calabria tries to put the game out of the visitors' reach, though his weak shot from 20 yards was easy for Gomis to deal with.
74'
M. Valdifiori enters the game and replaces P. Schiattarella.
A third and final change for the visitors, with Schiattarella - booked for a challenge five minutes ago - replaced by Valdifiori for the remainder.
Minute
Description
73'
C. Zapata gets yellow.
Bakayoko stings the gloves of Gomis with a well-struck shot. Zapata is shoved over when attempting to get on the loose ball but soon wins possession back, but the referee felt that he fouled his opponent in doing so. The defender is furious and is shown a yellow card for his troubles.
70'
P. Schiattarella gets yellow.
SPAL midfielder Schiattarella halts the Milan attack and is shown the third yellow card of the match.
66'
That was Higuain's first goal since the end of October, which was clear to see from the celebration - he did not hold back! SPAL, for the first time all match, must now commit bodies forward as they need a goal.
64'
G. Higuaín has scored a goal for AC Milan! Assist by H. Çalhanoğlu.
Calhanoglu knocked Calabria's cross into Higuain's path for the striker's first goal in 10 matches. That was pretty much Calabria's first touch of the ball since coming off the bench, and full credit to Calhanoglu for having the presence of mind to tee up Higuain.
GOOOAAAALLLL!!! MILAN 2-1 SPAL! The goal drought is over for Higuain! The Argentina striker does brilliantly to control Calhanoglu's pass in front of goal, taking Felipe out of the equation with his first touch and then smashing the ball into the back of the net from six yards.
62'
D. Calabria enters the game and replaces I. Abate.
P. Cutrone enters the game and replaces Samu Castillejo.
This second half is proving to be even more frustrating than the first for Milan. Kessie is the latest player to pick up a knock, though the midfielder does not require any help from the medical staff.
Gattuso is forced to turn to his bench, replacing Abate - who picked up a shoulder injury a few minutes ago - with Calabria in a like-for-like change.
Make that a double change for the hosts - Cutrone, the scorer of a brace in the reverse meeting between these sides, comes on for goalscorer Castillejo.
58'
NOT QUITE! From an almost identical position to where he scored the game's opening goal, Petagna sends his latest curler over the crossbar. That was the best SPAL have offered since their 13th-minute opener.
56'
Samu Castillejo gets yellow.
Castillejo catches Cionek pretty late and joins Kurtic in entering the referee's book in the opening 11 minutes of the second half.
53'
M. Fares enters the game and replaces F. Costa.
As Bakayoko receives some treatment following that strong challenge from Kurtic, SPAL bring on Fares for Costa. The man making way does not look too pleased.
51'
J. Kurtič gets yellow.
Higuain gets another shot away, which on this occasion hits the leg of Kessie. There could be a problem for SPAL, meanwhile, as Felipe lands awkwardly when challenging Kessie for the ball.
Kurtic slides right through Bakayoko when the ball had already gone and is rightly shown the game's first yellow card.
50'
Higuain was jeered by the home fans in attendance when failing to bring a pass under control towards the end of the first period, but Gattuso has stuck with the striker for now. Will the former Milan midfielder, under pressure following a poor run of form, turn to his bench before the hour mark?
48'
Abate sends the ball into the box and Gomis plucks it out of the air. Milan will be keen to rebuild some momentum early in this second half following their pretty dominant end to the first period.
46'
F. Vicari enters the game and replaces L. Dickmann.
SPAL, without a win against Milan since 1957, gets us back underway at San Siro.
Semplici makes a change for the start of the second half by bringing on Vicari for Dickmann, which could mean a change in formation.
45' +2
HALF-TIME: MILAN 1-1 SPAL
45'
SPAL seem happy to invite pressure on themselves, dropping deeper and deeper as the first half has gone on. It is a dangerous gameplan, but it is just about working with near enough half of the game played.
43'
CLOSE! Milan are starting to knock on the door as we enter the final two minutes of the first half. Calhanoglu loses his balance but still manages to get a shot away from 20 yards, which flies just wide of the opposition goal.
41'
The home side are not afraid to shoot. The ball is half-cleared as far as Rodriguez and the Switzerland full-back puts his foot through it, only to hit a SPAL player five yards in front of him.
39'
Milan have had 68% possession in the first half and will argue that they have done enough to warrant a half-time lead. SPAL, meanwhile, have managed just two shots and have scored from one of them.
35'
Both sides have been incredibly sloppy in possession over the past few minutes. Antenucci should do more with the ball when working some space on the edge of the box, only to delay the shot long enough for Milan to fully recover.
33'
SHOT! Abate gets in behind down the right and his cutback deflects into the path of Kessie, who shoots high and wide from 12 yards. Higuain, again, questions why the ball was not worked to him.
31'
SPAL enjoy a rare spell on top, but their play is not penetrative enough. The visitors scored through pretty much their only real sight of goal so far.
30'
Calhanoglu's deflected pass falls perfectly for Suso, but the Spain attacker cannot pick out Higuain in the middle with his cross. Higuain is cutting a frustrated figure.
28'
Higuain picks up the ball 35 yards from goal but is too slow with his pass, which is easily cut out. The home crowd are not happy with the striker, who is goalless in nine matches.
26'
The match started off in a lively manner, with both sides finding the net inside the opening 16 minutes, but there has been little action since then. Schiattarella's nasty challenge on Bakayoko goes unpunished.
24'
Milan were at their most threatening during the three minutes that they were behind. Since leveling things up the hosts have seen more of the ball but have done little with it.
22'
SHOT! A promising attacking move for the visitors comes to a disappointing conclusion. Kurtic is desperate to get a shot away and, rather than passing it to his left or right, he sends a weak effort down the middle from range for Donnarumma to comfortably keep out.
18'
Having managed one goal between them across the last four matchdays in Serie A, Milan and SPAL have a goal apiece with less than a quarter of this contest played. It has been a very good response from Milan since falling behind.
16'
Samu Castillejo has scored a goal for AC Milan!
GOOOAAALLL!!! MILAN 1-1 SPAL! An instant response from the home side, with Castillejo arrowing the ball into the top corner following a couple of defensive errors from Leonardo Semplici's charges. Costa in particular is at fault for that goal, firing the ball to the other side of the penalty area, where Castillejo was well positioned to pounce with his half-volley.
15'
A cross comes into the box and Higuain gets the smallest of touches to it with his head, but the out-of-form striker cannot quite turn it goalwards.
13'
A. Petagna has scored a goal for SPAL! Assist by T. Cionek.
Cionek is credited with the assist, but this goal was all about the quality of Petagna's finish, albeit with the help of a deflection. It was a straigtforward punt up the field from Cionek and Petagna did the rest on the edge of the area.
GOOOAAALLL!!! MILAN 0-1 SPAL! A brilliant finish from Petagna gives the visitors a surprise lead at San Siro. Petagna takes a touch to control the ball on the edge of the box, spins and sends a low shot spinning out of Donnarumma's reach via a deflection off Romagnoli.
11'
Milan are in complete control of the match early on. SPAL are already having to dig deep to keep their opponents out and we have only played 11 minutes.
7'
Suso cuts the ball back to Kessie 12 yards from goal, but his shot deflects behind for a corner. Milan are asking all of the questions in the early stages, with Higuain the latest to be denied by a sea of bodies.
5'
Cionek jumps in the way of Castillejo's shot from the edge of the box. Some poor defending from SPAL in the build-up to that strike.
4'
Good covering from Zapata to get to the ball before Antenucci could get a touch. This has been a positive start to the match from the visitors' perspective.
3'
Petagna, on loan at SPAL for the season, wins the ball deep but is unable to run clear when breaking into Milan's half of the field.
1'
Milan, with just one win in their last seven league matches, get us underway in this final Serie A game of the day.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Serie A clash between AC Milan and SPAL at San Siro.
Milan subs: Diego Laxalt, Andrea Conti, Andrea Bertolacci, Mateo Musacchio, Jose Reina, Jose Mauri, Fabio Borini, Frank Tsadjout, Riccardo Montolivo, Davide Calabria, Patrick Cutrone, Antonio Donnarumma
SPAL XI (3-5-2): Alfred Gomis; Thiago Cionek, Felipe, Kevin Bonifazi; Lorenzo Dickmann, Simone Missiroli, Pasquale Schiattarella, Jasmin Kurtic, Filippo Costa; Andrea Petagna, Mirco Antenucci (c)
Milan have gone four matches without a win in the Italian top flight, failing to score in each of those games, which has seen the pressure grow on manager Gennaro Gattuso. SPAL, meanwhile, are on their joint-longest run without a win in the top flight since May 1964 after failing to win any of their last nine matches.
The two teams are now out on the field at San Siro and we are moments away from kick-off. Milan start the match occupying seventh place in Serie A, four points adrift of the top four following their disappointing run of form, while SPAL are four points above the relegation zone in 16th place.
Milan go into the break level at 1-1 courtesy of a well-taken goal from Castillejo, less than three minutes after Petagna had opened the scoring for the visitors. SPAL stunned their opponents by scoring from their first effort of the match, but the 18-times Italian champions responded well to the early setback and have been on top since then.
A number of Milan attacks broke down inside the opposition box in the final 20 minutes of the first half, but under-fire boss Gattuso will be confident that his side can push on in the second period and take one of their chances. SPAL appear to be happy to sit back and soak up the pressure, meanwhile, with a point being considered a positive result should they hold on.
Thanks for joining our coverage today. Until next time, goodbye!
This victory will lift a huge weight off the shoulders of Gattuso, who has seen his future called into question in recent days. Fifth-place Milan are next in action in two weeks' time with a trip to Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia, while SPAL - still four points above the relegation zone after this loss - face Bologna in their next league match on January 20.
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