the 31st minute, as Erjon Bogdani headed in a cross from Ezequiel Schelotto. One minute before half-time, Cesena doubled their lead through Emanuele Giaccherini on a fast paced counter-attack. Milan had another goal called off early in the second half, this time for handball, but in the end were unable to score, with Ibrahimović missing a penalty in the late stages of the game. Only three days after defeating Auxerre in Champions League, Milan took on Catania at the San Siro. The Sicilians opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Ciro Capuano, who fired a 30-yard strike past Christian Abbiati. Moments before the interval, Milan equalised with a goal from Filippo Inzaghi. After a scoreless second half, the game ended in a 1–1 draw. It went no better on the following Wednesday, as Milan recorded another 1–1 draw in a mid-week game against Lazio. The Rossoneri went ahead in the 66th minute thanks to Ibrahimović. Clarence Seedorf played a long through-ball to the Swede, who dribbled goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and scored. The hosts equalised with nine minutes to play through a first-time shot by Sergio Floccari on Hernanes' cross. In the last minutes, both teams missed the chance to claim the victory: Gianluca Zambrotta hit the crossbar with a powerful strike from just outside the box, while Hernanes was denied by a save from Abbiati. Milan returned to winning ways by defeating Genoa 1–0 at home on Saturday, 25 September. The lone goal was scored by Ibrahimović in the 49th minute. The Swede striker chased a long ball by Andrea Pirlo and managed to stuck his leg between defenders Dario Dainelli and Andrea Ranocchia to kick the ball over the head of goalkeeper Eduardo, who only managed to palm it into the net. Milan repeated themselves the following Saturday, beating Parma, to get their first away victory of the season. The only scorer was Pirlo with a 35-yard shot in the 25th minute. After the second break for internationals of the season, Milan defeated Chievo 3–1 at home on Saturday, 16 October. Pato opened the scoring for the Rossoneri in the 18th minute with a one-time shot off an Ibrahimović cross. The Brazilian scored again twelve minutes later, following a quick free kick by Ibrahimović. In the second half, Chievo pulled one back, as a header from Sergio Pellissier was deflected by Ibrahimović into his own net. Milan's third