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The knockout stage of the Italian Cup tournament started on Tuesday with one match. Although the Lithuanian representative managed to score a goal away, his team still had to admit the superiority of the titled opponents.
Last season, when "Brescia" was still playing in the top "Serie A" league, the 24-year-old M.Stankevičius had one of his most successful moments at the "San Siro" stadium - in a match against "Milan" he made a precise pass in the last minute to Pierre Wome, who equalized the result, and after the game the successful Lithuanian national team player was recognized not only among the best players of the match, but also among the tournament's best players.
Although this time "Milan" coach Carlo Ancelotti decided to give some rest to the main players and the team's lineup was not the strongest, "Brescia", playing in the lower division, could not resist the opponents seriously in the first half - in the 26th minute Rui Costa scored with a precise shot from the penalty area, and in the 40th minute Alberto Gilardino scored after a corner kick.
However, after the break, the guests quickly recovered and at the same time restored the intrigue - when a penalty kick was awarded on the left side of the field, Omar Milanetto passed the ball to the opponents, and M.Stankevičius, who won the duel in the "second floor", softened the score with a header. It was the fifth goal for the Lithuanian playing in the safety position in Italy this season.
Despite "Brescia's" efforts to equalize the score, "Milan" played calmly and continued to control the game, finally securing the victory in the 69th minute. - receiving a pass from Rui Costa in the penalty area, Christian Vieri turned around and sent the ball into the goal defended by Federico Agliardi.
"Milan" confidently won and acquired a two-goal advantage for the return match on December 8th, while "Brescia" team can only hope for some consolation from M.Stankevičius' away goal.
