Crvena traveled to Milan knowing that a win was crucial if they were to give themselves a chance of progressing to the first knockout round, but in their own way it was a Rossoneri team that also needed three points to secure their consolidate their place in the play-off spots.
Although the hosts had the lion's share of possession, they struggled to create much with it. Tijjani Reijnders registered their first shot on target, but the Dutchman failed to challenge Ivan Guteša with a shot straight through the center of the goal.
Rafael Leão was next to challenge the Serbian stopper, but he was able to extend his left leg far enough to prevent the winger from opening the scoring.
Moments later, the visitors gave Milan a rare scare when Andrija Maksimović's shot from the center of the penalty area bounced off the crossbar. There were golden opportunities in the first half, as Crvena continued to do a good job in suppressing the hosts' attack.
Tammy Abraham came on as an early substitute for the injured Álvaro Morata and had an almost immediate impact as he tried to guide a cross past Guteša, but his effort went inches wide of the post.
Shortly before half-time, AC finally found a breakthrough when a long ball from Youssouf Fofana went over the Crvena defense and found Leão, who controlled and fired past Guteša.
The visitors came out swinging in the second half as Ognjen Mimović and Timi Elšnik forced two early saves from Mike Maignan to preserve AC's lead.
Just when it looked like the home side were going to see the match out, Nemanja Radonjić won the ball outside the penalty area and, after initially hesitating, the winger smashed the ball past Maignan to set up the equaliser.
A major problem for AC in the second half was their inability to find the goal, with an Emerson Royal shot straight at Guteša being the only notable shot with six minutes left on the clock.
Shortly afterwards, however, Abraham saw the ball bounce off the crossbar and land at his feet before scrambling the ball over the line to take the three points.
The win for Milan moves them up to twelfth in the league stage, with a place in the play-off round all but secured.
While progress is still mathematically possible for Crevena, this loss at the death leaves them having to make up a five-point lead in the play-off positions with just two games remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rafael Leão (AC Milan)
View a summary of the match here
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