Rafael Leao scored one and assisted another as Milan continued their unbeaten Serie A start with a dominant 2-0 victory over Bologna.
Stefano Pioli's side had to recover from a goal down in each of their opening two league games, winning one and drawing the other, but did not need another rescue act on Saturday.
Leao was a constant threat down the left flank and grabbed a deserved goal in the first half, before setting up a smart Olivier Giroud finish in the second half to cap an impressive performance.
Victory at least temporarily moved Milan to the top of the embryonic Serie A table, while the Rossoneri are now unbeaten in 19 top-flight games – the longest ongoing undefeated streak in Europe's top five leagues.
Pioli's men started slowly but kicked into gear after 21 minutes as Charles de Ketelaere dispossessed Jerdy Schouten and powered forward to tee up Leao, who rolled his finish into the bottom-left corner.
De Ketelaere continued to be Milan's chief creative force, chipping a delicate pass through for Pierre Kalulu, only for the defender to waste a glorious one-on-one chance up against Lukasz Skorupski.
Junior Messias was the next to be thwarted by Skorupski, before Leao blazed over the rebound, and Giroud dragged just wide of the target prior to the break.
The Rossoneri deservedly doubled their lead after 58 minutes when Leao lofted in a cross from the left for Giroud to acrobatically volley into the bottom-right corner.
Nicola Sansone almost hit back for Bologna, but his driven effort cannoned against Mike Maignan's right-hand post as Milan preserved their first clean sheet of the campaign.
What does it mean? Milan continue Bologna dominance
Milan had only lost one of their previous 25 Serie A meetings with Bologna, with that defeat coming in January 2016 when Rossoblu coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was with the Rossoneri.
Given their recent dominance in this fixture and last season's Scudetto-winning exploits, it came as little surprise to see Milan control most of proceedings – not allowing a single Bologna shot on target.
With Inter to come next weekend, Milan have thrown down an early marker as they look to defend their title this season.
Home comforts for Leao
Leao was a pivotal factor for Pioli last season as Milan edged out fierce rivals Inter to lift the Scudetto, and the Portugal international proved his worth once more here.
The 23-year-old has scored eight times in the league at home since the start of 2022, with no Serie A player finding the net on more occasions at their own stadium in that time.
Awful Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic was in the headlines earlier in the month after being linked to Manchester United, only for backlash from Red Devils fans to seemingly end any talk of a move.
The forward subsequently became the first player to score in both of Bologna's first two games in a Serie A season since Roberto Baggio in 1997-98, but he failed to deliver up against Milan's well-regimented defence.
What's next?
Milan will look to maintain their unbeaten run when they travel to Sassuolo on Tuesday ahead of the derby against Inter. Bologna host Salernitana on Thursday.
Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Nagelsmann's side thump visitors to confirm top spot
Germany posted a commanding 7-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate fixture in Freiburg to secure top spot in Group A3 of the Nations League.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst scored two goals each while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on the scoresheet as the Germans posted their fourth win and maintained a five-point lead over the Netherlands in second place.
Julian Nagelsmann's side made a blistering start as Musiala headed home with just 78 seconds on the clock.
Borussia Monchengladbach striker Kleindienst then opened his account for Germany as Robert Andrich's effort deflected off him on its way into the goal in the 23rd minute.
Havertz ensured the hosts went into the interval with a three-goal lead, while Wirtz added two more, including a superb free-kick, before the clock struck the hour mark, effectively ending Bosnia's hopes of a comeback.
Sane joined the party in the 66th minute with Germany's sixth before Kleindienst sealed the victory with his second of the night, a close-range finish, 11 minutes later.
The hosts will wrap up their group stage campaign with a trip to Budapest to face Hungary on Tuesday, while Bosnia, sitting bottom with one point, will host group runners-up Netherlands.
Netherlands 4-0 Hungary: Hosts cruise into Nations League quarter-finals
The Netherlands booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday.
Two first-half penalties had put the hosts in control before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners secured second place in Group A3 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
A medical emergency on the Hungary bench saw the game suspended after eight minutes, but play resumed with a Netherlands penalty after a Tamas Nikitscher handball, and Wout Weghorst confidently converted.
Cody Gakpo then doubled their lead from the spot in first-half stoppage time when Zsolt Nagy tripped Donyell Malen in the box, and Denes Dibusz was sent the wrong way once more.
Weghorst whipped a delightful, long-range curler against the crossbar shortly after the restart, but Dumfries would get their third in the 64th minute with a drilled finish across goal into the far-bottom corner.
Koopmeiners rounded off the scoring late on, meeting Dumfries' inch-perfect cross to power a header past Dibusz and in at the far post, and was denied a second moments later by the post.
Data Debrief: Oranje march on
The Netherlands knew they needed to avoid defeat to make it to the last eight in the Nations League, but Ronald Koeman's side were not going to settle.
They were on the attack from the very start, registering 22 shots as they created 2.92 expected goals.
Dumfries was at the heart of both goals after half-time, and he became the second player in history to score each of his first nine international goals for the Netherlands in the second half, after Pierre van Hooijdonk (also nine).
'We will bounce back', says Taylor after losing WSL top spot
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor vowed his side will bounce back after they relinquished the lead in the Women's Super League with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten both scored in the space of four minutes late in the second half as defending champions Chelsea condemned City to their first league defeat and leapfrogged them to the summit.
Sonia Bompastor's side now have a two-point lead at the top and a game in hand over City, but Taylor was confident his side will continue fighting the Blues for the WSL title.
"We've always done really well on the occasions we have lost, and we don't lose often. It's a tight challenge," Taylor told Sky Sports after the match.
"We are coming to a team that has done well over the years. We will bounce back for certain. The league is never won in November.
"Football is about getting kicked, and it's how you get back up. We are right up there."
The game looked to be heading for a draw for the most part before Ramirez and Reiten struck in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively, as Chelsea ended the game with an xG of 0.85, compared to City's 0.56.
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