ronaldinho rocket a bitter blow for braga published: friday 7 november 2008, 0.59cet ac milan 1-0 sc braga ronaldinho's startling added-time strike proved to be a cruel blow for their portuguese opponents, as the uefa cup favourites moved top of group e.
a stunning strike by substitute ronaldinho saw ac milan snatch a last-gasp victory against sc braga to take a three-point lead at the top of uefa cup group e.
stunning shot ronaldinho, who had replaced pato in the 63rd minute, unleashed an unstoppable added-time winner to deny braga the point their gutsy performance looked to have earned. with the final whistle in sight, a cross from the left was flicked towards the brazilian by gennaro gattuso and ronaldinho unleashed a stunning shot into the top-left corner from outside the area.
flying start milan almost got off to the perfect start when filippo ınzaghi headed wide of the right-hand post with less than four minutes on the clock. andriy shevchenko and pato also went close for the rossoneri in the early exchanges, while renteria might have found the target twice for braga in the opening ten minutes. ındeed, braga had the best chance of the half after 28 minutes with césar peixoto's point-blank strike demanding a great save from dida.
final flourish milan could have taken a quick lead after the break but shevchenko's diagonal attempt from the edge of the box sailed wide, with pato and ınzaghi screaming for the ball. renteria threatened on the hour but sent his effort narrowly wide from distance. substitute clarence seedorf dribbled his way past three defenders and into the area in the 77th minute before sending in a shot which was deflected away by moisés. however, the uefa cup favourites had one more throw of the dice late on, and ronaldinho struck lucky, registering his first european goal since his summer move from fc barcelona.
