The 13th round of the 2025/26 Serie A season featured a clash of titans, with AC Milan hosting Lazio. Thanks to a crucial second-half goal from Rafael Leao, the Rossoneri ultimately secured a 1-0 victory.

After this match, AC Milan temporarily tops the table with 28 points (8 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss), extending their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 13 games. Lazio, on the other hand, sits in eighth place in Serie A with 18 points, boasting an overall record of 5 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses.

Lazio took the initiative from the start, threatening AC Milan in just 2 minutes: Toma Basic's free-kick cross from the left flank was headed towards goal by Mario Gilardino, but was tipped over the bar by Mike Maignan.

After that, the two teams were locked in a prolonged stalemate. In the 32nd minute, Mattia Zaccagni turned and dribbled into the left side of the penalty area, but his shot-cross was blocked by Maignan. In the 43rd minute, Davide Batsaghi crossed from the left, and Christoph Nkunku headed the ball to Ficayo Tomori, whose shot went just wide.

At the start of the second half, Lazio launched another attack. In the 49th minute, Zaccagni received a cross from Gustav Isaksson in the penalty area and fired a shot, but Tomori made a crucial clearance in front of the goal. Milan, having escaped a close call, immediately launched a deadly counterattack: in the 51st minute, Tomori crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and Leao pounced on the ball to score the opening goal.

Both sides then exchanged attacks but failed to score. In the 63rd minute, Batsaghi delivered a lobbed pass from the left side of the penalty area, and Leão's header was brilliantly saved by Ivan Providel. In the 71st minute, Luca Pellegrini's long diagonal pass found Valentin Castellanos in the penalty area, whose sliding shot was caught by Maignan. In the 85th minute, Alex Saelemaekers swept the ball across the face of goal from the right side of the penalty area, and Strashinja Pavlović's volley was successfully saved by Providel.

However, the match was dramatic in the final moments. In the 97th minute of stoppage time, Alessio Romagnoli's shot inside the penalty area struck Pavlovic's elbow, but the referee refused to award a penalty after reviewing the VAR replay. Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri had also expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee earlier and was ultimately shown a red card. Despite this, Milan held on to a 1-0 victory.