Junior Messias scored a brace on his first AC Milan start as the Rossoneri thrashed Andriy Shevchenko's Genoa 3-0 on Wednesday to close the gap to Serie A leaders Napoli to one point.
Milan came into the game looking for an improvement after back-to-back league losses to Fiorentina and Sassuolo, and they took control early on at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris when Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired home a 10th-minute free kick.
Brazilian winger Messias, who scored the winner against Atletico Madrid on his Champions League debut last week, was named in Stefano Pioli's starting line-up for the first time and marked the occasion in style by scoring either side of halftime.
Junior Messias scored twice to lead AC Milan to a win. Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
Messias continues a remarkable career journey that has gone from delivering fridges to now becoming a star in Milan. The 30-year-old joined the Rossoneri from Crotone in the off-season. Messias moved to Italy from Brazil in 2011 and initially juggled amateur football with a job delivering fridges, before slowly climbing up the football ladder.
Shevchenko, who won the Champions League and Serie A with the Rossoneri as a player, is still waiting for his first win as Genoa coach after three matches in charge, and his side are 18th with 10 points.
Source: espn.co.uk